Happily Ever After?
by MarryTheNight25
Summary: The saga following Liz and Ginger continues picking up 18 months into Liz and Punk's marriage and you'll finally find out what happened to Colt and Ginger.
1. Chapter 1

**You asked for it and here it is :) In this first chapter you'll find out what happened to Colt and Ginger...There's a lot of Punk and Liz in the beginning, but don't worry, Ging and Colt will make plenty of appearances...Read, review and enjoy :)**

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Eighteen months into marriage and things were still going well for Punk and Liz. Punk had lessened his travel schedule so he was home more, while Liz had started a new book series that was once again proving to be successful. They'd recently made the decision to start a family seeing neither of them was getting any younger, but it wasn't coming as easy as they thought it would be. It had only been three months, so neither of them was worried about possible complications. Besides that they had the impending marriage of their best friends Colt and Ginger to focus on.

* * *

_After the wedding the mere thought of Colt and Ginger getting back together seemed like a myth. Ginger had officially lost all hope in Colt as she watched him shamelessly flirt with Jasmine and attack Stephen. However, she couldn't deny what she felt when Colt kissed her and neither could he. After seeking Punk's advice, Colt took a week to get himself together and think long and hard about how he was going to get Ginger back. He flew to Portland the weekend after the wedding, bought her the same kind of bright gerber daisies that he knew made her smile and headed to her house. Once he got there, he sat in the car and watched her playing with Leon through the window. The two were running around the living room laughing and Colt wished that he was inside with them. After twenty minutes, he finally got the courage to get out of the car, but once he had a closer look at Ginger and Leon, he knew they were better off without him. He left the flowers on the doorstep before turning to leave._

_Ginger was playing tag with Leon when he suddenly stopped and stared out the window. Pointing out the window, Leon looked at her and smiled. "Mommy, Colt is here."_

_Ginger smirked at Leon going over to pick him up. She'd had a tough time explaining the situation with Colt, and the toddler still asked for him from time to time. "No baby, Colt isn't here. How about we put on our shoes and go feed the ducks? Does that sound like fun to…" Ging glanced out the window to see Colt walking towards his car. "Umm...how about you go play with your wrestling action figures, mommy will be right back." Ginger put Leon down and he did what his mom said trouncing over to his Raw wrestling ring and picking up his CM Punk and John Cena action figures. Once Ginger knew he was occupied, she ran over and opened the door. "Colt, is that you?"_

_Colt was surprised to hear her voice as he turned around slowly and nodded. "Ahh, yeah, I came to see you, but I noticed you were busy with Leon, so it's not a big deal."_

"_You came all the way from Chicago, so it must be a big deal. What do you want?" Colt took a deep breath before he started to speak, but kept his focus downward._

"_I came to apologize to you. You didn't deserve to be treated the way I treated you and I regret it like you wouldn't believe. I honestly believed you when you said you didn't have any feelings for me, but I know now that's not true, well it wasn't true a week ago, but thanks to my own stupidity it might be true now." Ginger wasn't sure what to say as she crossed her arms over her chest._

"_Colt I don't know what you want to hear, but I can't do this right now. You hurt me a lot pulling that stunt with Jasmine and I'm not sure you deserve another chance. I have to look out for my well being as well as Leon's and I just don't think you're right for us anymore."_

"_I understand that, but I wish it wasn't the case. I still love you and Leon, and a part of me always will. You were the first woman to tame my crazy ways and I was ready to settle down, but looking back I know why you broke things off. I wasn't fair to you making you come to Chicago all the time. Relationships, especially long distance ones, are two way streets and I wasn't doing my part. I sincerely regret that now and if you would've been willing to give me another chance then I was ready to prove to you that things would be different this time. Hell I was willing to move to Portland if that's what you wanted."_

"_Why would you move here? Chicago is your home; you've lived there all your life."_

"_No, my home is where you are." Colt looked at Ginger for the first time, his green eyes meeting her blue ones. Even though she tried to keep her emotions in check, the sincerity and truth in his voice made her think twice about her decision. Ginger stood still on the front step thinking as she watched Colt turn to leave. She realized that life wasn't the same without him in it and even though he had hurt her, he deserved a second chance._

"_Colt wait, don't go!" Colt turned around with a look of confusion on his face. Ginger ran to him stopping when she was within arms reach._

"_Ging what is it?" Ginger smiled as she threw her hands around his neck and pressed her lips to his. When the two separated, Colt was shocked at what had just happened. He had barely expected her to let him back in her life nonetheless kiss him as passionately as she had. "So, what does this mean?"_

"_This is me giving you a second chance, but so help me if you make me regret this I will make your life hell. Now let's go inside because Leon spotted you through the window and he wants to see his Colt; he missed you as much as I did." Ginger smirked when she saw Colt smile. The two walked back into the house and into the future, never again taking the time to look back._

* * *

Liz woke up early Wednesday morning and smiled at Punk sleeping next to her. Punk had just gotten home from a month long stretch on the road, hopefully the last long stretch, and she was happy to have him back home. Pulling the covers off of her, Liz attempted to sneak out of bed, but felt a hand snake around her waist pulling her back.

"Where do you think you're going?" Liz smiled allowing him to pull her close.

"I was going to go for a run and come back and make you breakfast, but something tells me you have other plans." Punk kissed Liz's neck before capturing her mouth with his.

"I'm home for two weeks, so we're going to do a lot of baby making. You should probably get used to it!" Liz just shook her head and let Punk have his way with her.

An hour later, Punk was in the kitchen making breakfast when Liz came down dressed in her workout clothes.

"Where are you headed to now?"

"I'm going to the gym to catch a kick boxing class. I need my morning cardio boost, or I'll be grumpy the rest of the day."

"I think you got plenty of morning cardio already this morning." Punk winked at Liz, who was so used to his innuendos that she ignored them most of the time. "Anyway, you can't go until you eat something." Liz grabbed an apple and her water bottle from the fridge.

"I'll be back in an hour." Liz kissed Punk and headed toward the door grabbing her gym bag. "Oh and seeing you have so much energy, how about you start painting the guest room?" Liz smiled putting on her sunglasses and heading out the door. Punk leaned against the counter and looked at the large stack of pancakes he had made.

"Well Louie I guess you and I are having pancakes for breakfast. We'll show mommy she's missing out."

An hour later, Punk was prepping the guest room to be painted. What he really wanted to do was take a nap seeing his stomach was full of pancakes and blueberry syrup, but he'd promised Liz for three months that he'd paint the guest room, so he figured there was no better time then now to start. Just as he finished draping the cloth on the carpet, his phone rang; looking at it he didn't recognize the number, but something told him to answer it anyway.

"Hello."

"Is this Phil Brooks?"

"Yes it is, can I ask who's calling?"

"This is Dr. Levine from County General Hospital and we have your wife Elizabeth here." Punk froze in place; _Liz is at the hospital, why is Liz at the hospital?_

"Is she okay?" Punk hesitated asking not sure if he wanted to hear the truth over the phone.

"She's okay, but she's fairly dehydrated, which caused her to have a dizzy spell and faint at the gym. I don't recommend she drives home herself."

"Okay I'll be right there to get her, thank you for calling." Punk hung up the phone and ran downstairs, grabbing his keys and running to the car. He drove at least ten miles over the speed limit the whole way to the hospital, but he had to see Liz to make sure she was okay. Hearing she was okay was one thing, but he wouldn't be satisfied until he saw her with his own two eyes. Punk parked his car in the garage and ran for the hospital entrance. After stopping to ask a few nurses for directions, he found his wife hooked up to an IV flipping through a magazine. "Oh thank God you're okay." Liz looked up at the sound of his voice and was a little shocked to see Punk.

"What are you doing here? I told the nurse not to call you, that I was fine. I'm sorry they bothered you on your first day off."

"You're apologizing for bothering me! You should know nothing that involves you is a bother to me. Why didn't you call me?"

"Because I knew you'd panic and fly down here." Liz smirked at just how predictable Punk could be. "It's not a big deal, I'm just dehydrated thus the IV. In the matter of thirty minutes I'll be finished with this and we can go home."

"Why are you so relaxed about this? Liz you passed out in your kick boxing class, you're going to the doctor tomorrow and getting a full work up."

"Babe I'm surrounded by doctors and they've all assured me I'll be just fine. I need to drink more fluids that's all. Please don't worry about this so much, I'm not dying." Punk took Liz's hand in his and kissed the back of it.

"I'm sorry if I'm overreacting, I just worry about you."

"I know you do and that's one of the things I love about you. How about we go home and relax and I'll make dinner tonight; does that sound like a plan?"

"Any type of planning that involves relaxing I'm always on board with."


	2. Chapter 2

**A quick update :) Thanks for all of the adds and reviews, I'm glad to see everyone is equally excited for this third installment as you were for the first two...enjoy!**

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Later that evening, Liz was busy in the kitchen making Punk's favorite, veggies, pasta and homemade alfredo. Liz was cutting up vegetables when Punk came out and grabbed two bottles of water setting one in front of her. She couldn't help but roll her eyes seeing that was the eighth bottle of water he was making her drink and she knew he wouldn't go away until the last drop was gone. To appease him, Liz gulped down half the bottle before stirring the pasta and tossing the vegetables in to sauté them. She finished the rest of her water and Punk retreated to the living room leaving Liz to start the alfredo sauce. In the middle of stirring the sauce, she inhaled deeply and suddenly got a sick feeling in her stomach. She'd never felt such a powerful urge to be sick and she quickly ran upstairs to the guest bathroom.

Punk tore his eyes away from the Blackhawks game as he saw her run by and quickly got up to see if she was okay. He got there just as Liz was rinsing her mouth out.

"What was that about? Are you okay?"

"I don't know what that was. I was fine, but then I took a deep breath, smelled the alfredo sauce and just felt the urge to be sick." Liz was dumbfounded at the sudden illness, but even more so because after getting sick she felt fine.

"I knew that I should have called the doctor when we got home." Liz let Punk's words drown out as a thought crossed her mind.

"It can't be that…then again it could be." She turned to look at Punk who was lost in translation. "I think I know what it is."

"Then what is it?" Liz grabbed his hand and pulled him into the bedroom, which furthered his confusion. She went over to her night stand and grabbed a box before heading toward the bathroom. Punk followed her still not understanding what was going on. "Can you please tell me what the hell is going on?"

"Just give me a minute please. I can't pee with you right outside the door!" Punk rolled his eyes walking into the bedroom and pacing. Liz came out a minute later holding a pregnancy test in hand catching Punk's attention.

"Is that….are you…"

"Yes it's a test and we'll know in approximately six minutes." Liz sat down on the edge of the bed and Punk joined her as he bounced his leg up and down in anticipation.

"So you just have a stash of pregnancy tests?"

"I know it seems weird, but ever since we started trying I figured it was a good idea to have them on hand. Also I've taken one every month to make sure, but it dawned on me that I never took one last month, so it is a possibility."

"Well it makes sense that you are. I mean we've been trying pretty hard and the whole sickness thing is a symptom right?"

"I don't know I've never been pregnant. Granted yes women get morning sickness, but I'm not sure about random sickness; same goes for the dizzy spell I had this morning." Punk nodded as he and Liz sat in silence waiting for the timer to go off. After four long minutes, the timer went off. Punk looked at Liz and smirked.

"Okay, so if you are that's fantastic, but if not it's okay, we'll just keep trying." Liz nodded trying not to get her hopes up. They both looked at the test and Liz felt tears coming from her eyes. "Wait there's two lines, what does that mean?"

"That means that after you paint the guest room, you have a nursery to paint." Liz saw Punk's face go into a shocked expression before his big smile appeared.

"Oh my God, we're having a baby." He stood up pulling Liz into a hug and spinning her around, her feet coming up off the floor. "I love you so much and this is one of the happiest days of my life. I promise I'll be the best dad; hell I'll coach little league and soccer, our son is going to be so athletic."

"Umm not so fast, what if it's a girl?"

"Quite honestly if it's a girl then I'll be terrified, but thrilled all at the same time. I don't know if I ever told you this, but I've always wanted a little girl even though the thought of her growing up and meeting a guy like me scares the shit out of me."

"You might not like it if she brings home some punk kid, but if he's truly like you then I'll know she has nothing to worry about." Punk smiled pressing his lips to hers.

"We have so many people to call, so we should probably get started."

"Actually why don't we just keep it between us until it's verified by a doctor. I just don't want to tell everyone and then turn around and let them down."

"I don't think there will be a problem, but if that's what you want then I'll keep it under wraps."

* * *

An hour later, Liz was laying on the couch watching TV waiting for Punk to come back with dinner seeing her impromptu sickness had ruined the home cooked meal she had made. She looked down at her hands resting on her stomach and smiled; in a few months her flat stomach wouldn't be so flat any more and despite how hard she worked to keep herself in shape, she didn't mind the idea of a baby bump. Her phone vibrated from the table and she picked it up to see a text from Shaleine. Opening it she let out a sigh and shook her head. Punk chose that particular minute to come in the door and she looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I should have known you couldn't keep the baby news to yourself." Punk set the food on the table and sat down beside her.

"What are you talking about? I didn't say a word."

"Then why is Shaleine sending me a text saying, 'Is it true? Am I really going to be an Auntie? When is baby Brooks due to arrive?'" Punk smirked at her as he shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm sorry I really tried to hold it in, but I was really excited and had to tell someone."

"We're going to the doctors tomorrow; you couldn't wait one day?"

"Obviously not and obviously it runs in the family seeing Shaleine doesn't understand it's a secret, don't say anything. I don't feel so guilty though because I know you told Ginger."

"I did no such thing."

"Then why is she texting me to say congratulations?" Liz grabbed her food from the bag trying to avoid eye contact.

"Okay, so maybe I told one person too, now we're even."

"Not exactly…" Liz looked at Punk dropping her jaw.

"Who else did you tell?"

"Well I couldn't tell Shaleine without telling Cassie and my parents. Then I had to tell Colt, who had obviously already been told by Ginger, so that canceled him out, thus I called Kofi and let him in and he may or may not have yelled it throughout the locker room."

"Phillip! You are horrible at keeping secrets! What are we going to do if tomorrow we find out we're not pregnant?"

"That's not going to happen; I just know that you are. We've been trying for a few months without any luck and I think that luck has finally turned around."

"You don't believe in luck, so that isn't very reassuring to me."

"Well something that is reassuring, you're more irritable then usual and your appetite has definitely increased."

"If there was ever something you shouldn't say to a woman, I'd bank on those two things." Punk laughed as he wrapped an arm around her waist burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"I love you more then words could ever express and I'm so happy that you're having my baby."

"You mean our baby…" Liz couldn't resist smiling a little at the thought.

"My apologies, our baby; tomorrow everything will be verified and in seven or so months we'll have a new addition to our family. You can't tell me that's not exciting because I can tell by the look on your face that you're beyond excited."

"Okay fine I'll admit I'm excited about having a baby, but I just want to be 100% sure. We've been disappointed before and I just don't want to get overly excited just in case."

"Fine, then I'll be overly excited for both of us and tomorrow you can join me in feeling that way. Tonight though you need to eat and I got you a little bit of everything, after all you are eating for two, so you need the energy." Liz shook her head at all the food laid out on the table. She knew Punk had her best interest in mind, but it was in her nature to worry, so that's what she planned on doing until a doctor told her otherwise.


	3. Chapter 3

**Happy Monday everybody! :) Thanks so much for the feedback through adds and reviews that you've been sending my way, they're very much appreciated...this chapter you'll not only find out about Liz, but we'll catch up with Colt and Ginger a little bit...Enjoy and please continue to review :D**

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After putting Leon to bed, Ginger settled in on the couch cuddling up next to Colt. The two sat silently for a few minutes before Ging brought up the big news that their friends had shared with them earlier in the day.

"I can't believe Liz is pregnant, I'm surprised she said anything before going to the doctors."

"I don't think either one of them planned to say anything, at least that's what Punkers told me when he said it was a secret, but I told him I already knew. He was honestly like a little kid sharing the news; you can tell that he's over the moon about being a dad." Ginger nodded smiling.

"Speaking of dad's, I didn't get a chance to tell you that apparently Leon is having issues at school." Colt had taken news about Leon seriously since he'd been struggling in school. Turning off the TV, he focused his attention on Ginger.

"Is everything okay? I know he was having some problems socializing, but everyday I pick him up he's talking up a storm; he's surpassed the shy stage."

"He's doing well there, but I got a call from his teacher today. I guess they're doing a family unit at school and Leon is having some issues. All the other kids talk about their dads, but he told the teacher he doesn't have a dad. She's aware of the situation, but thinks we need to sit down and talk to him about his dad."

"Umm…okay. She's got a point, he should know about his dad, but how do we approach this?"

"I don't know, he's only four, so I can't just go off and say your dad got a brain tumor, beat up mommy while you were in her tummy forcing her to fake her death and go into hiding. Honestly if I could keep that from him for the rest of his life I would, but I know sooner or later he'll need to know the truth. For now I'm thinking we should just show him a few pictures, maybe even a match or two."

"That's a good idea, but what do I need to do? I know I'm not his father, but I want him to think of me as his dad."

"He pretty much does already. Mrs. Ross told me while he said he doesn't have a dad, he said he has a Colt and Colt is even better then a daddy because he plays with him and gives him ice cream for dinner when mommy isn't home." Colt smiled letting out a laugh.

"Apparently I need to reiterate to Leon what 'don't tell mommy' means. So I don't mean to change the subject, but thinking back on Punk and Liz, when are we going to tell them our news?"

"Well, we're going to visit next week, so why not then?"

"That's what I was thinking. Another thing I'm curious about, how do you think they'll react?"

"Well they might be slightly disappointed, more Punk then Liz, but I know they support us regardless and they're both just happy that we're together."

"They're not the only ones. I love you more everyday Ging; you're an amazing mother and the best thing that ever happened to me."

* * *

Liz got up late the next morning and took her time getting ready for her doctor's appointment trying to think of anything but babies. It was hard to do that though with Punk walking around the house singing at the top of his lungs.

"Havin' my baby, what a lovely way of sayin' how much ya love me…" Liz rolled her eyes as she applied her lip gloss and adjusted her pony tail. She grabbed a pair of sneakers from her closet and headed downstairs. Putting on her shoes, she grabbed her purse and headed for the door. "Hey wait for me!" Liz turned around to face Punk.

"Are you sure you want to come along?"

"Are you serious right now? Why wouldn't I want to come along? We're going to see our baby for the first time today; I wouldn't miss this for anything."

"What happens if there isn't a baby? I don't want you to be upset."

"Well if there isn't one, which you're wrong because there is, then you'll have to break the news to me sooner or later, so I figure I'll take the doctors word for it." With that the two headed out the door and took the very quiet ride to the OBGYN office. Sitting in the waiting room, Liz tried not to get her hopes up as she saw women all around her in various stages of pregnancy. Seeing the women didn't make her feel any better, instead she just felt more anxious with every passing second. Liz was so lost in her thoughts, that she barely heard the nurse call her name.

"Elizabeth Brooks," Punk tapped her leg as he got up to follow her back. He was nervous and fidgety, but felt more excited then anything. They had been trying for months and he was secretly beginning to worry that something might be wrong. He wasn't sure why Liz was wound so tight, but figured the countless negative results that she'd gotten over the last few months were the main reasons for her lack of excitement.

Liz laid on the table and took a deep breath as Dr. Servello came into the room and introduced himself before getting down to business. Liz held her breath as he pressed the fetal doppler to her stomach. Within seconds there was a loud whooshing sound that could be heard throughout the room. Punk leaned closer to Liz and whispered in her ear.

"What's that sound? What exactly does that mean?" Liz let a tear fall down her cheek and Punk felt his heart drop a little fearing that her concerns were correct.

"That would be you proving me wrong again." Punk smiled as he leaned close to her and kissed her lips.

"So we have a baby then?"

"Yes Mr. Brooks you do have a baby. Elizabeth you're about six weeks along and everything appears to be looking normal. Congratulations!"


	4. Chapter 4

**I've been writing all day, so I figured I'd share :) This chapter Colt, Ginger and Leon come to Chicago to visit and you'll all find out what the secret is ;) Also, Punk's protective side kicks in...Thank you so much for the continuous adds and the kind reviews...I'm sometimes my worst critic, so to hear that people love my writing and think I'm good at it makes me want to do it more :) Enjoy!**

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A week later Punk and Liz were relaxing on the couch watching _The Walking Dead_ and waiting for Ginger, Colt and Leon to arrive. Punk and Liz hadn't seen their friends and nephew in almost two months. Granted they talked on the phone constantly, but it wasn't the same. Punk secretly missed having his buddy live up the street, but he understood his reasoning for moving to Portland and knew it was what was best for Colt and Ginger's relationship; he couldn't deny he missed their bromance though. Liz heard the doorbell and got up to get it, but Punk pulled her back down onto the couch gently.

"You need to just relax on the couch, prop your feet up and stay comfortable; I'll get the door." Punk got up and stopped before leaving the living room, turning back to his wife. "Remember what I said; don't even try to pick up Leon!" Liz rolled her eyes once Punk's back was to her. Since finding out they were indeed expecting, he'd watched her like a hawk and it was slowly driving her crazy. _I love my husband, but I'll be kind of happy when he goes back to work. It'll give me a break from his constant bantering._ Liz knew he was doing it for all the right reasons and she didn't mind being waited on, but at the same time she was only seven weeks along and still perfectly capable of doing things, case and point answering the door. _If he's like this during the first trimester, I don't even want to think about when I'm ready to pop!_ Liz shook the thought from her head as Leon came running up to her giving her a big hug.

"Aunt Lizzie!" Liz smiled as the four year old clung close to her. He was the only person in the world she'd ever allow to call her Lizzie and only because she adored him.

"Well thank you for that big hug! I bet you missed me, which is funny because I missed you too. Where's mommy?"

"Mommy is right here!" Liz smiled as Ginger came into the room joining her and Leon on the couch. "Sorry for the delay, but the bromance reunion stole my focus momentarily. How are you feeling?"

"I feel great, but honestly I'll feel even better once the guys go out. I need a bacon cheeseburger and cheese fries like it's no ones business, oh and a big chocolate chip cookie from Starbucks." Ging shook her head.

"Cravings already?"

"No, well I don't think so, but Punk has been making dinner for the past week and if it's not organic then I've been forbidden to eat it! He's been very sweet and caring, but frankly he's driving me insane. I couldn't even get up to answer the door; he insists that I just relax on the couch."

"Why are you complaining about this? I would love if Colt told me to just relax on the couch and did everything."

"I do appreciate it to an extent, but I can't help but think if he's this bad now, what's it going to be like come months seven through nine?" Ginger saw her point, but seeing that Punk was flashing the baby's first sonogram around, she knew he was beyond excited.

After a few minutes of chatting back and forth, the girls heard the loud laughter coming from the front foyer and knew the bromance had made its way into the house. Even though Colt and Punk tried to hide the fact that they missed each other, it was no hidden secret to their significant others. The guys joined the girls in the living room continuing to catch up when Liz asked a question Colt and Ginger were both expecting.

"So you two have been engaged for a few months now, when is this wedding happening?"

"You of all people are going to ask that? Don't you remember how annoying it was to constantly be asked that question?"

"It is annoying, but seeing people bugged me about it, I figured it was appropriate to ask you two." Ginger and Colt made eye contact and Punk noticed the suspicious look on their faces as if they were hiding something.

"What is that?"

"What's what?" Colt asked trying to play stupid.

"That look, you two are up to something; spill it."

"Well, we have something to tell you guys." Colt paused focusing on Punk who had his arms crossed against his chest impatiently waiting to hear the impending news.

"What is it? We don't have all day, the Blackhawks game starts at 7, so we need to leave in the next hour." Ginger looked at Colt and knew he couldn't do it. Letting out a sigh, she picked up where he left off.

"There's not going to be a wedding…"

"Wait, what? Why? I thought everything was great with you two?" Punk was beyond confused and this was the last thing he expected.

"You didn't let me finish, there's not going to be a wedding because we eloped."

"You did what?" Liz and Punk asked in unison, both equally shocked.

"I already had a big fairytale wedding and didn't want another one. This is Colt's first marriage and it was his idea. I just wanted to start our lives together, so we went to the courthouse and did it."

"When did this happen?" Liz was still surprised because Ginger had never mentioned anything. Colt and Ginger exchanged another glance. Chewing his bottom lip Colt finally spoke up.

"We did it a week after we got engaged."

"Are you fu…freakin' kidding me?" Punk caught site of Leon out of the corner of his eye quickly changing his wording. "Why wouldn't you tell us that you wanted to do this? You both know we would have been there for you. Colt how could you get married without me, I'm the Maverick to your Goose!"

"Punk I'm sorry man; it was a spur of the moment. One minute we were discussing it, then we decided on it and before you knew it we had done it. Looking back I would have loved to have had both of you guys there, but that's not the way it worked out. Please don't be mad." Punk let out a deep sigh before making eye contact with Colt.

"Even though I wasn't your best man, I'm still Maverick right?" Colt smiled across the room.

"Of course, no one could replace you!" Punk and Colt got up and hugged.

"Awww…" Both guys glared at Ginger and Liz who were taking great amusement in their make-up process. They parted before Colt picked up Leon.

"I think we three men are going out for a manly dinner before hitting the hockey game. I'm glad we could be your source of entertainment though!" Ginger rolled her eyes getting up from the couch and kissing her boys goodbye.

"Have fun and Leon please be good for Colt and Uncle Punk." Liz went to get up, but Punk shook his head going over to her.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Punk please relax! I'll be with Ginger doing girl things and nothing will happen." Liz pressed her lips to his. "Now go have fun with the boys." Punk smirked before giving her another kiss goodbye.

"Ging take care of my baby mama and our baby. Regardless what she tries to pull, no junk food and make sure she drinks plenty of water!"

"No worries Punk, she's in good hands. I was knocked up once, we'll be just fine." Ginger and Liz watched the boys leave and once they were sure they weren't returning for anything, they headed to Clarke's Diner to indulge in the greasy food that Liz had requested. After all what the baby wanted, the baby would get and what Punk didn't know wouldn't hurt him.


	5. Chapter 5

**So I've been trying to space out my updates and allow time for feedback and such, but I'm leaving tomorrow morning and I'll be in Philly all weekend, so no updates until Monday :/...On the upside I'm attending Wizard World Comic Con and meeting CM Punk on Saturday which is mind blowing and I'm just really hoping I don't do or say anything stupid! Worse case is I'll forget my name, which happened when I met Christopher Knight (he played Peter Brady), but I'm hoping I'll be able to keep my inner fan girl in check!**

**Anyway, a little bit from the boys this chapter and some girl talk as well...Read, review and enjoy! :D**

* * *

After eating dinner, Punk, Colt and Leon headed to the United Center for the Blackhawks game. Leon watched hockey with Colt all the time, but this was his first trip to a live game and he was beyond excited about it. Walking into the arena, Colt held tightly to Leon's hand as the four year old looked around in awe of his surroundings. Once they made it to their seats, Leon watched the team warming up as Colt and Punk talked back and forth. To say he was excited for the Blackhawks to face off against the Penguins was an understatement; they were his two favorite teams to watch.

"So is the corporate office working with you scheduling wise now that Liz is pregnant? I know your original plan was to call it quits when you guys started a family, but I'm assuming that's not happening."

"Well I haven't talked to Vince about it yet, but I'm hoping he'll work with me. The original plan was to end my contract when we started a family, but I realize now that it's not happening, it isn't practical. I still have two years left in me before I'll reconsider retirement."

"Two years? How does your wife feel about that?"

"Yeah, we haven't discussed it much. I'm not sure exactly how to approach the idea. I'm also thinking about going on tour full time until she's about six months along and then I'll slow down again. I'm hoping she'll agree to tour with me, but once again I'm not sure how to approach that idea." Punk and Colt continued talking back and forth about their current lives as Leon looked on in awe. He was just learning to skate and already he couldn't wait to go home and practice. Just when he thought things couldn't get any better, he spotted his favorite Pens hockey player, number 71, Evgeni Malkin. His eyes lit up as he began tugging at Colt's jersey who was still in deep conversation with Punk.

"Colt…Colt…" Colt paused for a minute.

"Hold on a second buddy. Remember what mom and I said about not interrupting when adults are talking? Remember your manners." Colt rubbed his head before returning to his conversation.

"But Colt…" Colt continued to ignore the four year old leaving Leon feeling restless. "DAD!" Colt paused in his conversation turning his attention to Leon.

"What did you just call me?" Colt asked excitedly getting an eye roll from Leon. Despite only being four years old, he had the attitude of his mother. Colt shook his head focusing his attention on Leon. "What did you want buddy?"

"I wanted to show you Malkin, I saw Malkin on the ice. Dad you know he's my favorite and now I can tell mom I saw him." Colt's eyes lit up as Leon called him dad a second time garnering a small chuckle from Punk.

"Can I ask what's so funny?"

"Two things, first I find it absolutely adorable to see your reaction to Leon calling you dad, welcome to the club buddy."

"How exactly are you qualified to welcome me to the club? Your kid is still in the womb!"

"Yes, but when he comes into this world, I'm betting big money that dad is his first word. Second thing I find it hilarious that Malkin is Leon's favorite player seeing he used to date Ging, or was it Anna?" Colt shot him a look.

"Dad who's Anna? Did mom really date Malkin?"

"No buddy Uncle Punk is making stuff up." Colt shot a grin at Punk shaking his head. "I won't let anything ruin this moment, not even your ridiculous comments." Punk laughed adjusting his hat as the three settled in for the start of the game.

* * *

After eating a bacon cheeseburger, a large order of cheese fries and a double scoop chocolate peanut butter sundae, Liz was already thinking about a big chocolate chip cookie.

"Liz if you're thinking about more food, forget it! If your husband knew that I just let you eat all of that I'd be done for and if you eat anymore you'll be sick. Trust me, I had many days that I ate at least two pints of Ben & Jerry's and regretted it quite a few times."

"I know I need to slow down, but real food, not that organic crap, tastes so good!" Ginger rolled her eyes as the two headed towards the diner exit. It was still early, so they decided to walk around Chicago and work off some of the calories from their carb overload.

"So, a kid, are you excited?"

"I am, we've been trying for a couple of months and I'm happy to see everything is falling into place. Well, almost everything…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Punk and I haven't talked about his career, but I know what he's thinking. We've been together for almost five years; he's become easy to read. The original plan was that he would leave the company when we decided to start a family, but I can already see that's not going to happen. He has the championship again and he's become a major player in the business, which I'm okay with. I'm just curious when he's going to hang up his trunks and be a full time dad. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared about doing this whole parenting thing full time on my own."

"Don't jump to conclusions just yet. He's extremely excited to become a father, so I think he's going to make it his goal to be there as much as possible. Have you guys ever talked about you traveling with him? I mean it's more practical then you think seeing he has his own bus."

"We haven't discussed it and I'm not sure I'd be into that. I think one of the main reasons why our relationship works as well as it does is because we both have time to ourselves when he's on the road and I'm at home, so when he comes home it's like we're reconnecting all over again."

"I get that, Wade and I were like that, but I think you should think about it. You two will have to adjust to living together full time sooner or later whether it's now on a tour bus or whenever he decides to retire. When that happens your true relationship will start and trust me it's not always easy."

"Speaking of full time relationships, how are things with Colt? Any more nieces or nephews in my future?"

"Please! I need to deal with the one I have before I think about having any more. Honestly I kind of like the one kid deal, so unless Colt suggests another baby, I'm content for now."

"Is Leon doing any better in school?"

"He's made a turn around with socializing which is good, but a week ago his teacher called and informed me that he told her he doesn't have a dad. Colt and I sat down with him and I showed him pictures of his dad and tried to explain that he was sick and passed on, but I don't know if he really got it."

"Leave it to your kid to be so complicated at the age of four! Does he not think of Colt as his dad? I mean he's been there since before Leon was two, more then half his life."

"I think he does, but for some reason he just doesn't call him dad. I know Colt wants him to, but doesn't want to push it on him. I figure just give them both time and they'll have that father/son bond. Anyway, I want some dessert seeing I passed on it at the diner, what do you say to chocolate chip cookies?"

"Do you really have to ask a pregnant chick that has been forced to eat disgusting gluten free cookies if she wants a real double chocolate chip cookie? Yes I want a cookie, a decaf coffee drink too."

"If Punk ever found out about this he would never leave the two of us alone again!"

"Do you see now one of the down falls of traveling with him? He'll not only put me on a diet plan, but I'm sure he'll have me doing some kind of exercises too! I have come to terms with the fact that I'm eating for two and I'm going to get fat. Pregnancy is the best excuse for eating whatever you want and I kind of like that."

"Tell me that same thing twenty pounds from now and I might believe you!" Liz just shrugged her shoulders following Ginger into Starbucks.


	6. Chapter 6

**It's been far too long since I've updated, but I finally got a few minutes to sit down and relax! My trip was amazing (even if you don't care you're getting details, and deep down you know you do)...Not only did I rock VIP to meet CM Punk, but I met Colt Cabana as well! I swear to God I'm not making this up! haha While in line, waiting patiently for Punk (adrenaline racing, heart pounding, stomach flip flopping and palms sweating) a guy gave us a flyer for Chikara wrestling which just so happened to be down the street and sure enough Colt was wrestling! My friend and I literally were Ging and Liz for the day and it was a crazy experience, but one I will never forget! Well worth the $105 I invested in a VIP pass and a Chikara ticket...if you've never seen a Chikara show and they come your way, check it out...it was crazy, high flying and comedic, plus the crowd was amped the entire time, amazing experience...dare I say better then any WWE event I've been to (they're exciting, but not as exciting as watching 2 chicks wrestle 3 dudes, they gave the divas a run for their money!)...**

**Anyway, without further ado, here is chapter 6 :) Enjoy and no worries there will be parts of my trip/experience integrated into this story...**

* * *

After arriving home, Liz decided to head to bed while Ginger relaxed on the couch. The boys came in just after 11 with Punk carrying a sleeping Leon.

"Where's Liz?"

"She went up to bed about a half hour ago. We walked around a lot, so she was pretty tired." In all actuality, Liz was suffering from a food coma and Ginger was pretty sure she'd gotten sick. She hoped for the sake of both of them that her stomach had settled and Punk never found out about Liz's anti-organic binge.

"Okay then I guess I'm heading there too. I'll put Leon in the first guest room, good night guys; try not to get too rowdy tonight." Punk winked as Ginger rolled her eyes. With Punk heading to bed, Ginger focused on Colt who had a huge grin on his face, but hadn't said a word.

"What is that grin about? We're not having sex tonight, I'm sorry to disappoint."

"Honestly, I don't care. The most amazing thing happened tonight, Leon called me dad!"

"He did?" Ginger couldn't help but smile as she asked.

"Yeah, I honestly didn't know how I'd feel about him calling me dad even though I really wanted him to, but it was the most amazing thing. Plus he had so much fun at the game. Every time someone scored, he jumped up and down screaming. We had to explain to the diehard Blackhawks fans around us, but in the end they all cheered with him when Chicago won." Ging got up from the couch and sat on Colt's lap pressing her lips to his.

"I knew he'd come around sooner or later and I'm happy to see that you're happy about it. Don't get used to is though, it's great to hear dad now, but in the next ten years prepare for more 'I hate you dad' comments then 'I love you' ones."

"I don't care how he says it, I'm just happy that he's put me in that position in his life. I've been around for so long that I honestly do think of him as my son, so it was just amazing that he sees me as his dad."

"What do you say we head to bed? I know a four year old that will probably be waking us up between six and seven; I'm pretty sure tomorrow he'll jump up and down on the bed yelling mom and dad too!"

"That sounds like a good idea. By the way, you may have to explain to Leon that you didn't date Malkin. Punk cracked a joke about it and he's been asking me all night. I told him Uncle Punk was just messing with him, but it didn't stop the questions."

"Oh wait, I never told you that; I did date Malkin for about a year. It was before Wade and I had the perk of tickets at center ice for all the home games and free range of his place."

"You're messing with me right?"

"No Colt I'm not. It wasn't super serious, more fun for both of us then anything. That thing you like that I do when I bend backwards during sex, yeah I learned that when I was with him. I never realized how flexible I was until I hooked up with him."

"Okay this conversation has officially gotten too weird, but I will admit I appreciate that flexibility and the backwards bend thing. What do you say we give it a go?"

"Well I did tell you no earlier, but the more I think about it, the better it sounds, so why not."

* * *

Liz laid in bed feeling the repercussions of her night long binge eating. Luckily the nausea and upset stomach had subsided, but she was currently suffering from the worst case of heartburn she'd ever had. She'd already ate a handful of Tums and nothing was helping as she groaned from the discomfort. Liz heard Punk coming down the hallway and knew she had to pull herself together so that he wouldn't suspect anything.

"Hey baby, I'm surprised you're not asleep already. Ging said you girls had a busy evening and did a lot of walking, which I'm happy to hear. If you keep eating organically and doing some light activity, you'll fall within the 25-35 weight gain range, which is normal for women of average weight."

"Can we please not talk about how fat I'm going to get in the coming months and what is or isn't acceptable? I don't want to stress about it!"

"Okay, that's a sore subject, onto something else."

"I'm sorry babe, I'm just…tired. Anyway, how was the game? Did Leon have fun?"

"Leon was adorable cheering loudly for both teams, which at first pissed off some diehards around us, but he was so cute they got over it. Oh and he called Colt dad for the first time tonight. Thinking about it, I don't know who was cuter, Leon jumping up and down, or Colt grinning like a jackass." Liz swatted at Punk's arm.

"That's not nice; he's been looking forward to that moment. If anything you should be happy you were there to witness it."

"I was, it got me even more excited for when our son is born."

"Or when our daughter is born."

"Yeah I've been thinking about this and a boy would be much easier. There's a lot of stuff for fathers to do with their sons and we wouldn't have to worry about mood swings, or getting pregnant at 16."

"Umm, hello! I'm a girl and my dad and I found plenty of things to do together! Also I didn't end up pregnant at 16 and while a possible son can't get pregnant himself, he can impregnate other people's daughters."

"What's your point here?"

"My point is you shouldn't want one more then the other. Regardless if we have a boy or a girl, I would hope you'd love them and find special things for the two of you to bond over." Punk was taken back by his wife's sudden mood swing not realizing she would take his comment over the baby's sex so seriously.

"Baby I was just kidding, you know I'll love him or her regardless because it's our baby. What is up with you?" Liz felt tears well up in her eyes and she knew she had to come clean; she also had to find a way to get rid of the agonizing heartburn that was plaguing her body.

"I have the worst heartburn I've ever had in my life because I ate a lot of food that I shouldn't have eaten, but I was so desperate for something unhealthy and non-organic I didn't care." Liz wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and looked at Punk who had a smirk across his lips as he shook his head.

"I knew you two were up to something. I read in the baby book, which obviously you haven't been reading, that heartburn is perfectly normal. I'll go get you a big glass of milk and it should subside in about thirty minutes."

"Wait you're not mad at me?"

"Liz you're pregnant and I'm not here all the time, so you're going to eat what you want. However, when I am home, it's strictly organic. Just take it easy and be careful what you eat."


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm bored and kind of bummed out, so I figured what the hell I'll update...thanks for the reviews on chapter 6...enjoy!**

* * *

After saying goodbye to Colt, Ginger and Leon, Punk retreated to the bedroom to pack his bag for another two week stretch away from home. Liz sat quietly on the bed debating how to bring up the situation with Punk's career while Punk went over different options to discuss the same topic. After twenty minutes of silence, Punk zipped his bag and moved it to the floor taking a seat beside Liz.

"Okay we have to discuss certain things sooner or later and based on your silence you're thinking the same thing." Liz nodded her head as she absentmindedly bit her lip.

"Do you want to hear my thoughts first, or do you want to go?"

"I'll go; I've got two years left in me before I'll consider retiring again. Also I'd like to bump my schedule back up to full speed until you're six months along, then I'll slow down." Punk looked up to see a surprised look on Liz's face.

"Two years and full time again...I guess I should get used to being a single parent."

"What? No, I'm going to be there for everything just like I promised you I would."

"How do you plan on doing that when you'll be away from home?"

"That's the other part of my plan, I want you to come with me."

"I had a feeling this was coming. How would this work exactly? My doctor is here, what about check-ups and sonograms?"

"We travel with a full medical team complete with a dozen certified doctors, so that will take care of the check-up part. As far as sonograms, we'll fly home for them. I promise you we'll both be home and awaiting our baby by the time you're 35 weeks if not before." Liz pushed a piece of hair behind her ear as she thought about Punk's plan. Ginger had also recommended the idea and it was a good idea to get both of them used to being together all the time, but there were still so many questions and health concerns that she wasn't sure what to do. They had tried to hard to get pregnant, so she wasn't about to put the baby's life or hers at risk.

"I really want to, but..."

"But what? You want to go, it would be great for both of us and I can be there for whatever you need."

"Yeah, but what about the risks? It can't be healthy for me or the baby to deal with your travel schedule; I still don't think it's healthy for you! Plus there's a lot of questions that I have for the doctor."

"Like what?"

"Well a big one deals with flying; in what month of pregnancy should I not be flying? I need to sit down with the doctor and discuss my concerns."

"According to most of the airlines your safe to fly until you're 24 weeks. From there you can fly up until you're 32-35 weeks as long as the doctor signs off on it. I've already talked to Dr. Servello and he said everything is developing nicely and there isn't anything wrong with it, in fact he recommended the change of scenery because in some women being home alone during their pregnancy can trigger postpartum. Does that answer all your questions?" Liz shook her head feeling slightly frustrated that Punk had thought about this. Part of her wanted to go, but there was so much she had to do around the house before the baby was born. Plus Punk was leaving in the late evening, so she had no time to pack and they had to figure out what to do with Louie.

"So I see you thought of everything! Well even though I want to go, I can't. There's so much that needs done around here before the baby comes, plus I don't have any time to pack and what are we going to do with Louie? I'm sure you didn't think this far ahead did you?"

"Actually you have once again underestimated me. We have seven months to prepare, so everything will be done, Ginger packed your bag earlier and Louie is coming with us."

"Do you really think that you and Kofi are ready to deal with a hormonal pregnant woman and a dog?"

"Well both are just a test run, if you two don't follow the rules then I send you home. As far as Kofi goes he's traveling with Truth a little more so that we can have our time together."

"I still can't believe I'm about to do this. Do you realize how annoyed we'll both be after a month?"

"I think we'll be fine. Just think of this, of Ging and Colt can do it then anyone can."

* * *

Ginger, Leon and Colt had just gotten back from their trip to Chicago and they were all happy to be home. As Ginger took Leon to get a bath, Colt settled in to listen to the messages on the answering machine. He flipped through listening to each one while deleting ones that weren't so important when one caught his ear.

"Hey Colt, it's Archie from Chikara. Listen buddy I know you've slowed down wrestling the indies to bond with the wife and step-kid, but we need you in Philly on the 2nd. Give me a call and let me know by Tuesday. Tell me what I can do to convince you because we miss you as much as I'm sure you miss us." Colt hadn't wrestled since moving to Portland instead focusing on his podcast and Marty Derosa projects. He made appearances from time to time, but he'd basically taken Punk's original approach and retired from the business, however a big part of him missed putting on a show and meeting the fans. Before he could talk to Archie, he needed to talk to Ging, but before he did that he had to think it over. He left the message on the machine and got comfortable on the couch flipping through the channels.

He settled on a hockey game, but couldn't focus thinking instead about the call from Archie. He knew he wanted to do it and he had to do it for both himself and the fans. Even after he'd left, the fans still demanded him. However, he wasn't alone on this, he had a wife and a kid, so his days of going from place to place doing shows wherever, whenever were over. Just then Ginger came downstairs sitting beside Colt and snuggling up against him. Colt wrapped his arm around her shoulder, but she could tell how tense he was knowing something was up.

Ginger rubbed her hand across his chest trying to help him relax. "Colt, what's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"Nothings wrong babe, everything's fine." Ginger noticed Colt's hasty response and the fact that he kept his focus on the TV instead of looking at her, something he never did. Ginger sat up and took the remote turning off the hockey game. Colt went to protest, but before he could Ginger put her hands on both sides of his face bringing his attention to her.

"Scott Colton, look me in the eye and tell me there's nothing bothering you and maybe, and that's a big maybe, I'll believe you." Colt looked into Ginger's blue eyes and knew she wasn't going to give up until he confessed.

"Okay, so when you were upstairs getting Leon settled down, I went through the messages on the machine and there was one from Archie."

"Chikara Archie?"

"Do you know of any other Archie? Of course that's who it was. Anyway they want me to do a show in Philly on the 2nd and I want to do it, but I know you need me here." Ginger dropped her hands from his face and forced a small smile. How could she have let this happen? Colt's main love was wrestling and since taking on a family he had pushed it aside and she had let him. Granted she encouraged him to do at least the podcast, but she never thought to push him to do more.

"Babe, you love to wrestle, so you should do it."

"I know and I really want to, but you know how this goes. One show leads to five, then to ten, which leads to me traveling every weekend, which I can't do. You have team stuff, so who will look after Leon?"

"Colt I don't want you to have to worry about that..."

"Yeah, but I do, I'm Leon's dad." Ging let his words sink in and her forced smile became more natural.

"Yes you are his dad and he would love to see you wrestle, so do it for him, for me and most importantly for yourself."

"You're sure about this?"

"I'm more sure about this then anything else. I love you and I want you to be happy. If wrestling makes you happy then do that, but if it doesn't then I'd be happy to help you find something new that makes you happy." Colt smiled as he pressed his lips to Ginger's.

"As long as I have you and Leon I'll be more then happy. Everything else is just something extra that tops the cake. On that note I'm going to call Archie and let him know I'm in. Don't go to far though because I want to thank you properly."

"Thank me for what?" Ginger gave Colt a seductive smile knowing exactly what he meant.

"For never listening to my bullshit and encouraging me, but most importantly for being the hottest trophy wife ever." Colt winked as he left the room to call Archie.


	8. Chapter 8

**Update time :) I've been working on ideas for this story for the past two days, so I figured I'd post some of what I wrote and any feedback I get will motivate me to keep going...The Punk/Liz part of this chapter came from the bus tour, which I never thought would come in handy, but sure enough it did! Also I love that Ginger clearly wears the pants in her relationship with Colt, if you haven't bought into that, just read this chapter and you'll rethink it! Read, review and as always, and most importantly, enjoy!**

* * *

After a two hour flight, Liz was relieved to get off the plane. When they left Chicago, she still wasn't 100% on the idea of traveling Punk's schedule, but she was willing to give it a go. Liz liked the idea of spending more time with Punk and she really didn't want to be home alone and pregnant. After boarding Punk's bus, she headed straight for the queen size bed letting out a content sigh as she curled up with a pillow. Louie followed in behind her taking up the side of the bed reserved for Punk.

"Are you serious right now? We haven't even left the airport yet and you two are already taking over my bed!"

"A very comfortable bed it is; in fact why isn't our bed at home this comfortable?"

"You've never complained about our bed before. Louie, scram!" Louie looked up at Punk and let out a groan before moving to the foot of the bed allowing Punk to take back his side of the bed. Liz curled up in his nook and closed her eyes.

"I could get used to this." She mumbled.

"Well you're welcome; I officially have the best ideas and quite frankly I don't know why we didn't do this sooner." Liz opened her eyes and looked up at Punk.

"You're so sure of yourself aren't you? I guess some things will never change!" Punk kissed her on the forehead smiling. Liz laid there comfortably debating if she really needed to unpack, but she knew if she didn't do it now, it would bother her. Finally she got up and grabbed her suitcase. Punk followed suit getting out of bed due to his growling stomach.

"Are you hungry? I'm thinking pancakes."

"Pancakes sound delicious. Wait, they're not the whole wheat ones are they?" Punk smirked confirming her suspicions.

"They're much healthier, you should probably get used to it."

"I know I should get used to it, but it doesn't mean I have to like it!" Punk got to work in the small kitchen area making pancakes while Liz pulled everything out of her suitcase. All she wanted was a pair of sweatpants, but of course her dear friend Ginger had packed nothing but jeans and cute shirts. Liz groaned when she got to her pajama pile at the bottom and saw nothing but silky nightgowns. _I knew I should have gone through this suitcase before I left! Something tells me Ginger didn't pack my suitcase after all, she would have allotted me at least one pair of sweatpants. Besides that all of these shirts are my cleavage shirts, the ones Punk enjoys a little too much. Oh well, luckily Punk has plenty of T-shirts I can steal._ Once everything was laid out on the bed, she wondered where to put it. "Hey babe, this closet…"

"Take it, you have a lot more clothes then I do. Whatever you do though, don't open the side door."

"What side door?"

"The one across…"

"God damnit! I think I found the one you were referring too; a slammy just fell on my foot. Really Phil, do you just throw everything in here?" Punk smiled to himself trying to control his laughter, the last thing he needed was a pissed off wife because life on a bus with a pissed off wife would not be fun. After flipping the last pancake, he turned off the stove and headed back to see if she was okay.

"To answer your question I don't put everything in there, just comic books, some other books I have yet to read, x-rays and that one slammy is the random exception."

"Books you haven't read huh? Isn't that interesting, here is a copy of my first book! If you haven't read it then how did you know what happened in it."

"Well, Kofi is a sucker for that genre, so he read it out loud."

"Oh how adorable, a read aloud like they do in kindergarten classrooms!" Phil rolled his eyes before closing the storage closet again.

"Anyway, is your foot okay? Those slammy's can be heavy."

"I'll live, but please tell me who packed my suitcase?"

"I told you Ginger did." Liz paid close attention to his reaction.

"As I suspected, your nostrils are flaring, so you're lying! You could of at least allotted me a pair of sweatpants and a shirt that doesn't show everything I have to offer."

"What fun would that be?" Liz smiled shoving his arm playfully.

"Are my pancakes ready? I'm hungry!"

"Yes pancakes are ready and because I'm the nice guy that I am, I even put whipped cream and chocolate syrup on top."

"That is sweet, and it's good to know that there's some trace of real food on this bus!"

* * *

Ginger was unloading the dishwasher while Leon colored a picture at the kitchen table when she heard the front door open.

"Colt, is that you babe?" Colt appeared in the kitchen a minute later wearing his sweaty gym clothes. "Hey, how was your workout?" Colt grabbed a bottle of water and leaned against the kitchen counter gulping it down.

"You don't want to know."

"It couldn't have been that bad. Granted you haven't wrestled in over a year, but you've done daily cardio workouts in one form or another."

"Yeah, but I'm still out of shape. I got in the ring today and it was bad; seriously made me feel like I was back training with Ace again. I got my ass kicked."

"Seriously? It sounds to me like you're overreacting."

"I'm definitely not. Who am I kidding anyway? I haven't wrestled in over a year and I figured I could just get right back in the game, which sounds so stupid. Oh well, I gave it a shot. I'm going to go call Archie and tell him to find someone else then I'll shower and join you and Leon for dinner."

"No you're not!"

"I'm not what? I smell terrible, so I'm assuming its okay to shower and I'm hungry, so food is a must. What's the big deal if I cancel on Chikara?"

"First off you promised you would do something and I'm not letting you go back on that. Also there could be different opportunities that come from this."

"Ging, I love you, but there won't be any other opportunities, at least not ones that lead anywhere. I had my shot in the WWE as Scotty Goldman and it was an epic fail! Granted it was partly my fault because I didn't stand up with the development of my character and demand to be Colt Cabana, but what can you do? Creative calls the shots."

"Scott I'm telling you right now that I'm not letting you quit and walk away from the business that I know you love for a second time! You need to stop being such a pansy and get your shit together! Leon is very excited to see you wrestle, so much so that he told his whole class about it and you're going in for career day next week. Pre-schoolers don't want to hear about pod-casts, they want to hear about wrestling. If you break his heart, then you might as well break mine and I know deep down it's breaking yours, so suck it up! Sweat a little bit more and work harder; you have two months to get ready and I suggest you use every hour of every day to prepare yourself." Colt was speechless at his wife's promo cutting ability, but he knew she was right. Giving up wasn't going to get him anywhere and he loved wrestling. At the age of 32, he didn't have too many years left, so he knew it was now or never. Letting out a sigh, he looked up into his wife's blue eyes, which were finally starting to soften a bit, and admitted she was right.

"You're right, I do have something to prove and I've got time to get better. A lot of people are counting on me for this comeback; I just want to impress them."

"You impress Leon just by being yourself and as long as you're trying I'm equally impressed. Also, I spoke to Liz today and it turns out Comic Con is that same weekend, so both her and Punk will be in your corner."

"Okay so more people to cheer me on, which will help. Anyway I'm going to shower and relax before dinner. Thanks for once again talking sense into me and not letting me quit, your pep talks are the greatest babe." Ginger smiled as Colt's lips met hers.

"Not only was I an athlete, but I made it a habit to date athletes. On occasion pep talks are needed, so I'm just glad I could help. Now please go shower because you smell awful!" Colt laughed as he grabbed his bottle of water and headed toward the shower.


	9. Chapter 9

**Skipping ahead this chapter...I thought about not updating today, but I have a lot going on this weekend and I didn't want to leave you guys hanging :) I know I hate not having fanfic updates to read, so I said why not...At this point Liz is developing a baby bump and it's not exactly met with welcome arms...Everyone is meeting up in Philadelphia as Punk heads to Comic Con and Colt has his first show back with Chikara (sound familiar...) Thanks for the reviews and adds...enjoy!**

* * *

Two months later, Liz let out a frustrated sigh as she struggled to find something to wear. This had become a daily occurrence since an additional ten pounds had found its way to her belly region, which had popped out, and another five had been planted on her ass. She bought new clothes every other week, yet she still felt like she had nothing to wear. Being pregnant wasn't as grand of an experience as she originally thought it would be. Despite wanting to give up and cry, she was determined to push past her frustration for once. Besides she didn't have much of a choice seeing her and Punk were on a flight to Philadelphia in the matter of hours. As she angrily threw clothes into her suitcase, Punk appeared in the doorway.

"How are you still not packed? I thought you were ready last night." Liz glared at Punk and he wished at that moment he had never opened his mouth. She'd been touchy lately, which was understandable with the hormones, but even so Punk hadn't learned the best way to approach her.

"Please don't start; I'll be ready in fifteen minutes even though at this point I don't even want to go anywhere but home! I want to take my dog, lay in my bed and stay there until this fetus decides to vacate my body." Punk hesitantly approached her noticing tears in her eyes as he got close. He pulled her close to him as she cried on his shoulder, something that had become a weekly occurrence.

"Shh…it's okay, everything is fine. We'll be home this week and you can sleep in your own bed. In fact if you stop crying I'll buy you multiple pints of Ben & Jerry's!"

"No! That'll just make me fatter then I am…" Punk rolled his eyes heavenward. Clearly at this moment there was no God and if there was one, he sure as hell wasn't doing anything to help Punk out.

"Baby will you please stop crying. This weekend is supposed to be a good weekend! We're going to see Colt, Ging and Leon and then we'll head home tomorrow. Monday morning we get to find out if we're having a boy or a girl, which alone is exciting! I know everything is messed up right now because your body is changing and your hormones are going crazy, but I promise you that it'll all subside. We'll work together to get into a routine and if you want I'll help you lose the baby weight, but please realize I think you're beautiful no matter what; always have and I always will." Liz lifted her head from his shoulder sniffling as Punk wiped away the stray tears.

"Do you really mean that? Even though I've gained over fifteen pounds you still think I'm beautiful?"

"Yes, you're my wife, the main woman in my life, why would I think you weren't beautiful?"

"Oh I don't know, look at the size two women that you work with."

"I don't want those women; I want you and our baby that is on the way." Punk leaned down and kissed Liz, which not only made her snap out of her little pity party, but it reassured her that he meant what he said. "Are you ready to go? We've got a plane to catch and a busy day ahead of us." Liz nodded as she ran her hand over her face. She was almost five months along; this pregnancy would be over soon and they'd have a new baby, something that Liz was desperately looking forward to.

The minute the plane landed in Philadelphia, everything became an instant whirlwind. Punk was heading straight to the convention center for his appearance, while Liz had decided to check into the hotel and relax. She had plans to meet up with Ginger and Leon later, but she needed to sleep first; it seemed like all she did was sleep anymore, but with the constant travel it was to be expected. Punk kissed Liz goodbye as he got into one car and she got into another. It was weird being away from Punk, but Liz welcomed the change. She had been completely wrong in thinking they'd be miserable being together all the time because it had actually brought them closer. Granted they both made it a point to have time to themselves were Liz would take Louie for a walk and Punk would stay up late watching his horror movies, but having more time together was a good thing. Liz sighed looking out the window though knowing that once the baby was born she'd be on her own again. The baby was due in early August and the company wanted Punk to carry the title into Summerslam, which was in the middle of the month, and everything from there was up in the air. He was currently in discussions to do less house shows so that he could be home on weekends, but nothing had been decided upon yet.

The car stopped in front of the Four Seasons hotel and the driver opened the door for Liz to step out. After checking in and getting Louie settled, Liz laid down on the queen size bed and closed her eyes. Just as she was about to enter a deep sleep, her phone rang causing her to jump; Liz grabbed it quickly answering with sleep in her voice.

"Hello."

"Hey, where are you at?"

"What do you mean where am I? I'm at the Four Seasons attempting to take a nap; I thought we weren't meeting up until later."

"Well change of plans." Liz rolled her eyes cursing to herself for not putting her phone on silent or better yet just ignoring the call!

"I'm guessing I don't have a choice in the matter, so give me a half hour to get ready to go and I'll meet you at Jake's."

"Sounds like a plan, now get moving because Leon is anxious to see you!" Liz smiled as she hung up the phone. Despite the lack of sleep, she was looking forward to reuniting with Ginger and Leon.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Liz did a once over to make sure she had everything and checked on Louie one last time. She yawned as she walked down the street, but the ringing of her phone grabbed her attention. Figuring it was Ginger being impatient; she was surprised to see it was Punk who was calling.

"Hey babe."

"Hey, I hope I didn't wake you, but I wanted to double check on what's going on later."

"No you didn't wake me; I never got around to taking my nap."

"Why not? You need your rest Elizabeth."

"I know I do, but I'm fine, really. Ginger called me and apparently things changed, so I'm meeting her and Leon at Jake's. I don't know what we're doing, but I'll meet you at the convention center at 5 and we'll go from there."

"I have a Q&A at 5, but with how popular I am it might go later."

"I don't want to crash your ego, but how are you so popular at a comic convention? Isn't Stan Lee and Thor there?"

"Yes, I totally just met both of them! I didn't think I'd have that many fans here either, but my line was longer then Thor's, so things are going to run a little longer then expected."

"Okay, well the show starts at 7 and Colt's match is second, so make sure you figure it out."

"I won't miss it, this is super important to him that we're there, so I'll be there. How about you just enjoy your day with Ging and Leon and I'll catch up with you at the show. Just please make sure you drink plenty of water and take a few minutes to relax and prop your feet up." Liz rolled her eyes, but she couldn't deny that his caring side was very cute, borderline sexy, but that could be the hormones messing with her.

"I will do all of that don't worry. Go have fun being a comic book nerd and I'll see you tonight, but make sure you're not late! I love you."

"Love you too babe." Liz hung up the phone with a smile on her face. After walking a few more blocks, she arrived at Jake's and found Ginger and Leon sitting at a table outside waiting for her. Leon ran up to give her a hug only to hesitate when he noticed her belly.

"Aunt Lizzie, is there really a baby in there?" Liz smiled as she kneeled down to his level.

"Yes buddy there is a baby in there. He or she will be here this summer, so you'll get to come visit."

"Cool!" Leon looked up at his mom. "Hey mom, where do babies come from and can you and dad get another one? I want a brother to boss around." Ginger was taken back as Liz tried to hide her laughing.

"Ahh…well…we'll ask dad about where babies come from later and as far as you getting a brother we'll have to talk to dad about that too."

"Oh…okay. Can we eat now? I'm hungry, I want pizza!" Ginger smiled as she ushered him inside.

"My bad for bringing up curiosity."

"No worries, lucky for me he has a very short attention span. Hopefully he forgets all about this until he's 13. Anyway, how are you feeling?"

"I'm okay, tired, but besides that things are going well. Punk and I are getting along and we find out the sex of the baby on Monday. I will tell you right now that you were right about the weight gain not being so great, it's been my biggest stressor as of late because nothing fits, but I have a very convincing husband who tells me I'm beautiful and for some reason I believe him." Ginger smiled as she stepped up to order lunch. Once they got their food, they sat at a table in the back.

"So how is Colt feeling about tonight? Is he ready?"

"I think he's more then ready, but if you ask him he's still freaking out over the whole thing. Leon and I went to see him practice last week and frankly I think he's better now then he was before he left. It'll probably take him a few minutes to calm down, but I think once he's out there in front of the fans he'll be fine."

"Well I'm sure one of your famous pep talks wouldn't hurt." Liz laughed as she took another bite of her pizza. "Speaking of your pep talks, I think you should be in the delivery room. I know you'll be encouraging because I can tell already Punk is going to be dumbfounded over the whole experience. I don't want anything from him except some hand holding, his encouraging words might make me want to strangle him."

"You really want me in the room? Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah, I already mentioned it to Punk and he doesn't care as long as he's in there and I told him no worries he's not getting off that easy. So will you do it?"

"I'd be honored. It means a lot that you want me to be apart of this especially seeing what happened with my birthing experience. I'm glad you got to see Leon before we left for Miami though." Liz smiled as she looked at Leon.

"They grow up so fast. That's the down fall of Punk's career, I'm afraid he's going to miss so much and he won't forgive himself for it. Babies only say their first word one time, same thing with their first steps, and you can't always catch those things on video."

"He still hasn't figured out the career thing."

"As of two months ago he said he could go for another two years. He's in talks now to lessen his house show appearances, but nothing has been set in stone. I want to support him, but I'm terrified that I won't be able to take care of a baby by myself." Ginger reached across the table placing her hand on top of Liz's.

"Liz everything will work out. You're smart and incredibly strong, so I don't think you'll have a problem taking care of a baby on your own. Besides that I know how Punk is and he's going to spend every free hour he has in Chicago with you and the baby. He's excited to be a dad and he's going to do everything in his power to be there for you."

"I know he wants to be there, but wanting to do something and being able to do it is practically impossible with his career. Things are crazy right now as it is with three big stars on the suspension list; him and Cena are carrying the company and Cena has his own personal problems going on. He planned on lessening the load when I was around eight months and the way things are looking right now that's not going to happen."

"It's tough being married to someone in this business nonetheless starting a family, but I think you guys will work it out just fine."

"Well I hope you're right and I'm worrying over nothing." Liz drank the rest of her water before she, Ginger and Leon left the restaurant deciding to explore the city.


	10. Chapter 10

**The gang is still in Philly and it's almost time for Colt's return, I'm curious if Punk will make it in time...Thanks for all the adds and reviews, enjoy!**

* * *

Liz looked at her phone for what seemed like the twentieth time. It was 7:10 and Colt was on his way to the ring, but there was still no sign of Punk. She had sent him several text messages and he'd replied with the same answer every time "I'll be there as soon as I can." Letting out a sigh, she put her phone back in her pocket focusing her attention on Colt's tag team match with Archie. Liz was incredibly tired and irritated, but there was no way she was going to miss Colt's return to the ring, she just wished she could say the same thing for her husband.

Archie was in the ring first, but that didn't stop the fans from cheering for Colt. Ginger smiled when she saw how hyped up Colt was just based off the crowd reaction so when he was finally tagged into the match, she could see he was ready. Colt did a phenomenal job selling the high and low points of the match making it seem a little too realistic when he was thrown from the ring to the floor. Ginger cringed and noticed Leon's reaction.

"He's okay Leon. Remember how we said dad would be pretending he was hurt? This is one of those times he's pretending."

"Are you sure? That looked like it hurt; you should probably rub his back later." Ginger rolled her eyes shaking her head at her four year old.

"How much did your dad pay you to say that?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about mom." Leon smiled focusing his attention back to the action in the ring. He noticed Veronica, Archie's kayfabe girlfriend, coming down the ramp. "Uh oh, I don't think this is going to be good." Sure enough it wasn't good as Veronica distracted Archie costing him and Colt the match. To make matters worse, she made out with Archie's opponent making it clear that their relationship was no more.

* * *

After his match, Colt made his way to the locker room and was surprised to see Punk hanging out talking to some of the guys.

"Hey Punk, what are you doing back here?"

"Well I didn't finish my Q&A until 7, so I ran down here and figured I'd just hang out in the back. I know there's some fans in the crowd and I don't want to steal the show from you guys, I'm here as a fan. Speaking of fan, you looked good out there buddy."

"You think so? I wasn't sure I was ready, but Ging insisted that I go through with it."

"You have a wise woman, and you should listen to her more often. Her ideas might seem off, but she knows what she's talking about."

"So I've been told. Anyway you should probably let your wife know you're here, she looked pretty pissed."

"Why of course she is! I love Liz more then anything else, but this hormone crap and the mood swings are killing me. I'm trying to be a nice guy, but there's been a couple times where she comes at me out of nowhere and it's like she's possessed."

"I wouldn't know what that's like, but you dig crazy chicks, I think you can handle it. Besides you only have four months to go. The payoff in the end will be worth all the bullshit. Being a dad is one of the greatest jobs a guy can have." Punk smirked while shaking his head knowing Colt was right.

"Alright buddy I'm going to sneak out there; are we grabbing dinner after?"

"As long as Leon is still awake that sounds good to me." Colt watched as Punk left the locker room before hitting the showers. He had a bunch of merchandise to sell that wasn't going to sell itself.

* * *

After the contract ladder match, Ginger left Leon with Liz as she went in search of her husband, finding him in the lobby hocking merchandise and holding a baby. She looked on as he bounced the baby up and down and couldn't help but smile. Since Ginger had settled down with Colt, she had thought about having another baby, but kept convincing herself that it was never the right time. With Leon asking for a sibling, Liz and Punk having a baby and seeing how happy Colt was with a baby, she decided it was finally time. Granted she would have to talk it over with Colt and make sure it was also what he wanted, but as far as she was concerned now was the perfect time. Leon was at a great age to become a big brother and their baby would be close in age to Punk and Liz's baby. She pushed the thought aside as she approached Colt leaning against the counter top.

"Who is this little guy?"

"This is Archie's little guy, Trevor, he's eighteen months old. Poor Lisa has had to keep him occupied the whole show, so I took him off of her hands for a little bit."

"Well he is adorable. Speaking of kids, ours said the damndest thing today."

"Whatever he said I swear I didn't tell him to say it."

"For once you can't be blamed for this one! He went to give Liz a hug and noticed her baby bump and asked her if there was really a baby in her belly. Once she said yes he turned to me and asked where babies come from throwing in that he wants a little brother he can boss around."

"Is that so? What did you tell him?"

"I told him to ask his dad."

"You didn't! I'll be damned if I'm explaining how babies are made to a four year old." Ginger smiled at the expression on Colt's face.

"Well he's so distracted by wrestling right now that I don't think that will be a problem. I'm sure he's forgotten about it by now."

"Good, hopefully he doesn't ask again until he's like ten. Better yet we'll let him find out about the birds and the bees in school!" Ginger shook her head as Lisa came over to take Trevor back.

"Thank you so much Colt." She turned her focus to Ginger extending her hand. "You must be the Mrs. I've heard so much about you and I'm happy to finally meet you. Your husband is amazing."

"He is isn't he."

"Yes, he's so good with Trevor. I wish Archie would step up like Colt did to help me out. Oh well, not all guys are naturals with children."

"That's very true. Speaking of children, I better get back to Leon because I'm sure he's talked Liz's ear off by now. It was nice to meet you Lisa, you too baby Trevor." Ginger turned her attention to Colt. " I'll meet you out here after?"

"Sounds good to me babe; Punk said about grabbing food, willing Leon is still awake and Liz is less hormonal, I think it's a good idea." Colt gave Ginger a quick kiss before watching her walk away. Based on the brief conversation they had, Colt was pretty sure he could comfortably bring up the conversation of having another baby. Granted he loved Leon like he was his own, but Leon was getting older and heading to school. He liked babies and he hoped that he could convince Ginger that now was the best time to have one.


	11. Chapter 11

**It's Monday, so in honor of Raw being on tonight, I made sure to update :) I spent most of the day yesterday writing more to this story and there's a lot of OMG moments coming up...for this chapter each couple has their own heartfelt special moment (the kind that makes you want to vomit if it happened in real life)...Thanks for the adds and reviews as always! Enjoy!**

* * *

After the show, the five headed out to dinner, but things were awkward. It was clear that Liz was overly tired and irritated, but rather then getting grouchy with everyone, she didn't say much. She had tried to tell Punk to just go ahead without her, but Ginger had insisted that she tag along. Around 11, Leon started to show signs of being tired, so everyone decided to say goodnight and planned on meeting up sometime before the baby was born.

On the way back to hotel, Liz was quiet and Punk hesitated to say anything not wanting her to snap at him. He had explained why he was late to the show and that he'd watched Colt's match back stage; she claimed to forgive him, but Punk knew there was something up. Once they got back to their hotel room, Liz went to take a shower while Punk got Louie situated taking him for a walk around the local park. When he came back, he found Liz laying in bed. Assuming she was asleep, he quietly undressed before climbing into bed and snuggling up close to her. He leaned forward to kiss the top of her head and realized she was still awake, which he found odd seeing she was clearly exhausted.

"Are you okay?" Punk brushed a piece of hair out of her face as she rolled over to face him.

"No I'm not; I'm exhausted, but I can't sleep."

"Welcome to my world! I can deal with very little sleep where you need all the sleep you can get right now, so what can I do?"

"I don't know, I'm a mess right now. I know I've been acting crazy lately, but it's like I have no control over it. I feel like I'm trapped in someone else's body with the constant mood swings and the crying for no reason, not to mention the weight gain. Being pregnant isn't as fantastic as I thought it would be. Magazines and movies show it as this fantastic experience, but it's been nothing like that. This is supposed to be a happy time and I've been nothing but miserable."

"This is all completely normal, messed up and frustrating yes, but normal. I'd be lying if I said things were fantastic because I do walk on eggshells once in a while because I'm afraid that something I say or do might upset you, or stress you out. I've learned quickly that the mood swings and crying is not you and it's out of your control. You might feel miserable, but there have been plenty of days where things have been great. Just try to focus on the end point where we'll have a baby that's a little bit of you and a little bit of me. Besides we've got eighteen years to be miserable, there's no reason to start now." Punk noticed a smile spread across her lips as he pulled her closer to him.

"I suppose I should make the best out of the next four months because the scary part begins once he or she is here. I've read the books, but I honestly don't feel any more prepared to be a parent. I'm especially scared of having to do it alone." Punk felt an ache in his chest hearing her words. He still felt selfish about his decision not to retire, but he also felt like it was the right decision. The company was in a difficult position with so many guys either being suspended or injured, so the last thing they needed was for Punk to turn in his resignation papers. He wasn't sure how he was going to balance family and his career, but he knew he had to figure it out soon.

"I don't think anyone ever feels prepared to be a parent, so you're definitely not alone there. As far as you doing it alone, I'm doing everything I can to make sure that I'm there as much as I can be. I want to be there to support you and I know I need to be there to develop a bond with my kid. I already know it's not going to be easy, but I'll do whatever I have to. Please try not to stress about it though, I think I'm doing that enough for both of us."

"I know that no matter what happens we'll make due and we'll be okay, but it's still a scary situation. I'm just hoping that the rest of this pregnancy goes as planned and we have one of those fantastic babies that sleep through the night and rarely cry."

"I'm hoping for the same thing, but I doubt we'll get that lucky. Then again I was a pretty calm baby, my mom always said I was the easiest to deal with. What about you?"

"I was the complete opposite! Why else do you think my parents stopped at one kid? I was quite the handful."

"Fantastic! Well let's hope our kid is more like me then."

"No thank you, I couldn't bear two of you always thinking you're right!" Punk laughed resting his hand on Liz's stomach feeling the baby moving around.

"It's going to be a long night! I guess our jiu jitsu martial artist is awake, therefore so is mommy."

"Well if mommy is awake then so is daddy. Good thing I'm used to never sleeping." Liz smiled as she moved closer to Punk resting her head on his chest. He ran his fingers through her dark brown hair and within fifteen minutes they were both sound asleep.

* * *

Once Ginger made sure that Leon was sound asleep, she joined Colt in the master suite. He was flipping through the channels looking for something on TV but wasn't having much luck. Without either of them really thinking about what they were going to say or how the other would react, they both decided that particular time was a good time for baby talk. Ginger crawled into bed beside Colt who in turn turned off the TV focusing his attention on her.

"So I have something that I wanted to talk to you about and I think I know how you feel, but I wanted to make sure." Ginger chewed her lip feeling her nerves kick in.

"That's funny because I wanted to talk to you about something too."

"Okay well you go first."

"No you go first."

"Okay how about we just both say what we're thinking at the same time."

"That could work; I say we give it a try." Ginger nodded smiling a little.

"Let's go then; one, two…" At the count of three both Ginger and Colt spoke simultaneously. "Let's have a baby."

"Are you serious Ging, you really want to have a baby?"

"Yes I'm totally serious. I've been thinking about it for a while, but kept convincing myself it wasn't the right time. Now is the right time. Leon is the perfect age and he said today he wants a sibling."

"I can't believe it was this easy to agree on something. I got the idea that you wanted a baby the way you were looking at Trevor tonight, but I still figured you'd need some convincing."

"No convincing this girl, but I figured you'd need time to think about it."

"I've been thinking about it for a few weeks, so my mind is 100%." Ginger smiled as she leaned forward to kiss Colt. The sweet innocent kisses they exchanged gradually turned into a full on make out session as Colt removed Ginger's pajamas. Ginger straddled his lap as he guided her onto him both of them letting out a moan. After an hour and two full rounds of sex, the couple laid in bed both feeling exhausted.

"When we make a decision we go all in!" Colt laughed as he placed a kiss on her shoulder.

"Frankly if I knew it would've been this amazing, I would've never thought about it!"


	12. Chapter 12

**I spent most of the day yesterday knocking out chapters for this story and I like the way it's turning out...The next few chapters there will be a lot of focus on Liz and Punk (you'll understand why as you go on), but I'm not forgetting about Ging and Colt, they'll still be mentioned from time to time and everything will come back around full circle...Read, review and enjoy!**

* * *

Monday morning came and even though Liz had to be at the doctor's office by 9:30, she was still in bed at 8:50. She missed sleeping in her own bed, but knew today was an important day; today they found out exactly what they were getting into for the next eighteen years! Pulling back the covers, she took a minute to stretch before getting ready. Liz wasn't sure where Punk was, but after getting dressed and making her way into the hallway, she smelled something delicious that brought a smile to her face.

"Good morning." Liz stood on her tiptoes kissing Punk on the cheek.

"Hey babe, I was just going to come wake you up. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes I did, better then I thought I would. Our martial artist decided to take it easy on me last night."

"I'm happy to hear that because I've been worried about you not sleeping enough and I have all intentions of talking to Dr. Servello about that today."

"It's not a big deal. The farther along I get, the more uncomfortable I'll become and sleep just won't come as easily. I should get used to it because I'm in for some late nights once he or she arrives." Punk wrapped his arms around Liz's waist and pulled her close leaning down to kiss her.

"Have I told you lately how happy you make me?"

"Even if you have I probably wouldn't believe you because of how bitchy I've been. You definitely get man of the year for putting up with me! On the upside of all of this I think the mood swings are beginning to subside. Anyway, we need to get going; our appointment is at 9:30 and afterwards we should probably go look at baby furniture seeing we've got four months to go and nothing is ready!" Liz untangled herself from his grip so she could finish getting ready.

"Don't worry about the nursery I've got it all taken care of." Punk winked at Liz when she met him with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not sure I even want to know! Then again who am I kidding even if I wanted to know, you wouldn't tell me!"

"That's correct! Now let's go see our baby, it's been too long and I'm a little anxious."

* * *

The doctor had just finished the ultrasound and Punk was already busy texting everyone in his contacts to let them know that baby Brooks was a girl. Liz shook her head at the smirk that was planted on his lips; she wasn't sure what his reaction would be to a girl, but he seemed thrilled nonetheless.

"Are you going to let me share the news with anyone?" Punk thought for a minute.

"Ahhh…I haven't told Ging yet, figured I'd leave that to you."

"Oh that's nice of you! I should probably call my parents and let them know…" Liz looked at the guilty look on Punk's face. "You already told them?"

"Well on the upside they're just as excited as we are!" Liz shook her head as they headed towards the car.

"You are unbelievable!"

"Oh come on you love it!" Liz let out a sigh and caught the cheesy smile on Punk's face. She couldn't deny how adorable he was, so she gave in and got over it.

"Anyway, on to the next order of business, a trip to babies r' us!"

"Can that wait? I have a few things to take care of, so I was just going to take you home so you can relax, I'll take care of my errands and then we'll go do baby stuff."

"I suppose that could work, but don't take all day." Punk dropped Liz off at home and to say she was curious what he was up to was an understatement. Liz curled up on the couch with Louie making herself comfortable. She thought about watching a movie, but decided to call Ginger before Colt told her the news first. Ging picked up after three rings sounding out of breath.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm just fine…"

"You sure; you don't sound fine."

"Trust me, I'm good. Anyway, you went to the doctor's today, how did it go?"

"Well it's a girl!"

"That's good to hear; now I can buy those obnoxious headbands with the huge flowers on them." Ginger laughed as Liz rolled her eyes.

"Don't you dare! Anyway, that's my news, what's new with you?"

"What makes you think there's something new with me?"

"Because there's always something new with you!"

"My life is fascinating and exciting isn't it? Umm…well it's nothing that big, just Colt and I decided the other night to start trying for a baby."

"Wait, what?"

"We decided to start trying for another baby. We both love Leon, but he's getting older. Plus he made it pretty clear he wants a sibling! Anyway I have wanted another baby for a while, but denied it thinking it wasn't the right time, but I saw Colt playing with Archie's baby and everything clicked. We mentioned it and decided to go for it."

"Oh my gosh this is so exciting! Hurry up and get pregnant so we can raise our babies together!"

"Okay, calm down! It's only been two days; we need a little more time then that!"

"I'm sure you guys won't have any problems, I'm just happy for both of you; this is great news and Leon is going to be so excited!"

"We haven't mentioned it to him yet seeing neither of us wants to go into how babies are made, but once there's a confirmed pregnancy then he'll be the first person to know. Anyway, enough about me, have you gotten the nursery set up yet?"

"No headway made on the nursery. I planned on doing some baby shopping after my appointment this morning, but Punk had something else in mind. He keeps saying not to worry about it, that he has it taken care of, but honestly that just makes me worry even more!"

"That's because for once you aren't in control of the situation at hand. You might deny this, but when you aren't in control, you don't like it!"

"Now you're just making me out to be a controlling bitch."

"I didn't say it, you did!" Liz managed to laugh as Louie jumped off the couch running for the front door. A few minutes later Punk took Louie's spot on the couch and began rubbing Liz's feet getting a smile from her in return.

"Even if that is all very accurate, I'll continue to deny it. Anyway, I'll call you later." Ging and Liz exchanged goodbyes before Liz hung up the phone setting it on the coffee table.

"That was quick; I didn't expect you to be back so soon."

"Well I was a man on a mission and knew exactly where I had to go and what had to be done." Punk moved from his end of the couch and stretched out spooning Liz from behind. Liz was content as she rested her hand over his, which sat on her protruding belly. Punk was quiet and Liz knew he had something on his mind.

"What are you thinking?" Liz shifted so that she was looking at him.

"Something that you probably won't like."

"And that something would be?" Punk let out a sigh as he held her tighter. She wasn't going to like what he had to say, but that wasn't going to stop him from saying it anyway.

"So I've been thinking the last few weeks about you traveling with me and listening to Dr. Servello today, I think it's best if you stay home."

"What? No! I'm fine, everything is perfectly normal."

"Yes everything is normal, but I'm worried about the lack of sleep and your stress level. Your blood pressure was on the high end today and the last thing we need is for you to end up in a random hospital because of complications. You need to be home and I already talked to Shaleine and Cassie who agreed to move in so you won't be here alone." Liz was trying her hardest to hold back her emotions, but she was both frustrated and upset. Not only was Punk making this decision for her, but he'd gotten two babysitters to look after her. The whole idea was absolutely ridiculous!

"Why are you the only one who has a say in this? It's not fair that you're making all the decisions and on top of that you've gotten me not one but two babysitters! Are you kidding me right now?"

"I'm sorry if it seems like I'm calling the shots, but I already knew you wouldn't go through with this. If you want to come back out on tour with me then there's nothing I can do to stop you, but I just don't think it's a good idea. This leg of the tour is going to be non-stop and we will be gone for almost three months."

"I understand that you're worried, but everything is fine and everything will continue to be fine. I agree I need more sleep and less stress, but you need the same! Besides I like getting to spend time with you and sitting at home alone isn't going to make anything better. Going on tour with you allows me to spend more time with you and it's gotten my creative juices flowing."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, why else do you think I've had my iPad in my hands for hours at a time? I'm working on a children's book."

"After writing raunchy adult romance books, you're completely switching gears and writing for kids?"

"I know it sounds insane, but traveling with you has inspired me. Oh and I have to travel with you next week because I have a meeting with Vince."

"Why do you have a meeting with my boss? What did I do now?"

"It's not always about you! My book is featuring some of the roster, so I'm going to show it to him along with some illustrations I had drawn up."

"When have you had time to do all of this?"

"Those long nights when I can't sleep, I've been productive. Forget about everything for a minute, are you really okay if I go back on tour with you?"

"I'm okay as long as you're okay, but if something becomes too much please tell me. I want our baby girl to be born in Chicago because it's the best city in the world."

"I think you're a little bias!"

"So be it if I am; your doctor is here and I think he knows what he's doing unlike if God forbid something happened in Hicksville Kentucky, that would not be okay with me!" Liz smiled as she turned to face him.

"Well there won't be any problems, but I'll come home a month early; is that enough of a compromise?"

"That works for me. By the way, you get to call Shaleine and Cassie and break the news."

"Well we'll leave Louie behind and they can stay here and babysitt him. Now they get the house to themselves, just no parties and if they do happen, they clean up the mess."


	13. Chapter 13

**It's been a rough day, but posting always makes me feel a little bit better...A lot of craziness going on in the next few chapters, hopefully no one thinks it's too crazy, lots of drama seeing I love drama in writing, but not in the real world!**

**Read, review and enjoy!**

* * *

A month after their trip home, Liz was fully adjusted to Punk's work schedule. She had been doing better making sure she was well rested, but there was still stress in her life; the newest one being her children's book idea. Vince loved the idea of having a series of children's books starring some of the WWE talent, so did her publishing company, but both had a strict timeline laid out for when they wanted things completed. Despite originally planning to not write during her pregnancy, she threw herself into the creative process feeling herself wearing thin in a short amount of time. Punk kept a close eye on her threatening to hide her iPad when he thought she had done too much, so she was careful not to over do it when he was around. Liz had promised Punk she would head home at the beginning of her seventh month, so she didn't have much time to finish the book and present it to Vince. On top of that, she was still stressing over the baby's nursery, which to her knowledge hadn't been touched, but Punk reassured her that everything was taken care of.

Liz was sitting in Punk's locker room hard at work reading over what she had wrote when she noticed something was off. Her vision was blurring, so she blinked a few times until it cleared again. Once she could see clearly she thought nothing of it continuing on until it happened again. Setting her notes aside, she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths only to open them and find the room spinning. Punk was currently practicing for his match and even if he was around Liz didn't plan on telling him knowing he'd panic. After taking a few deep breaths, she steadied herself and made her way to the trainer's room to be checked out. Once she got there she felt fine, but didn't want to risk the dizzy spells and blurry vision returning, so she opened the door and made her way inside.

"Hey Mama Punk, what can I do for you?" Liz smiled acknowledging the ridiculous nickname.

"Hey Steve, I was hoping you could help me out and check my blood pressure. I think everything is fine and I just need to take a nap, but if Phil finds out I let this slide, I'll hear about it." Steve smiled. He had come to know Liz and Punk seeing first hand how concerned Punk could get.

"Not a problem, just give me a minute here and we'll check everything out." Liz smiled as she let out a deep breath hoping this would be quick and painless; she had a deadline to meet, so getting an unscheduled check-up was a waste of time. Steve took Liz's right arm and applied the blood pressure cuff. Within two minutes the beep sounded and Steve looked concerned.

"Liz this isn't good; your blood pressure is 90/50. If you would've let it get any lower, you would have passed out for sure. What have you eaten today?" Liz thought for a minute before guilt hit her. She'd been so preoccupied and focused on work that she hadn't eaten all day and it was currently 4:30.

"Okay, so now I know why I had the problem and how to fix it. I suppose I'm on my way to catering." Liz got up to leave, but Steve stopped her.

"Why don't you wait here and I'll go get Punk. He should be done by now…" Liz knew if Punk found out about her neglecting to eat because she was so wrapped up in work he'd flip, so she was quick to think on her feet.

"Actually Steve that won't be necessary because he's meeting me over in catering, but thanks again; I'll check in later to make sure everything worked itself out."

"That sounds like a good idea, now please go eat and be careful. You're coming up on your third trimester, so you need to be more aware of your health for both you and the baby's sake."

"I will be sure to pay closer attention, now if you'll excuse me." Liz smiled as she left the room and made her way to the catering area. After grabbing a sandwich, two bottles of water, a side salad and French fries, she made herself comfortable sitting with Natalya and Alicia for some girl talk. In the middle of their conversation, Liz's phone rang and to no surprise to her it was Punk.

"Hey where are you?"

"I am eating and talking with some of the girls."

"Please don't tell me you're eating that garbage from catering? Not only does that stuff taste awful, but none of it is good for you."

"That's not true I managed to find water and a salad, which balanced out the BLT and French fries."

"I don't know how you can eat that crap, but at least you're eating. You didn't touch your muffin this morning, so I was slightly worried."

"Well there's nothing to worry about, everything is a-okay."

"Alright, well I'm going to stop by the training room and have Steve stretch me out, so I'll meet up with you later." Liz panicked knowing that Steve would ask Punk how Liz was feeling.

"Why is Steve stretching you out? I thought Jenn was your go to girl."

"Usually yes, but she's on vacation this week, so Steve it is; he's just as good." Liz felt the guilt of her lying set in and decided she had to come clean.

"I'm finished here, so can you just stay put for a few more minutes. I have to talk to you about something." Punk pursed his lips together wondering what was going on.

"Uhh, yeah I guess that's okay."

"Okay I'll be there in ten minutes." Liz hung up the phone and said goodbye to the girls throwing out her garbage. She felt much better once she ate and figured her blood pressure was on the rebound and there was nothing more to worry about, but figured Punk wouldn't see it that way. Rounding the corner to his locker room, she took a deep breath and cursed herself for trying to keep the whole thing a secret to begin with. Upon opening the door, she found Punk lounging on the couch looking over her book notes. Usually she would yell at him for this, but she hoped this time it would lessen his anger.

"Hey, I'm all ears, chat away." Punk set aside Liz's book notes and sat up motioning for her to take a seat.

"Okay I'm just going to come out and say this so then you can get angry and hopefully in a few hours this won't be an issue." Punk looked at her with a confused look.

"What is it?"

"This afternoon while you were practicing, I was working and noticed some blurry vision followed by some dizzy spells…" Punk's eyes went wide and he felt himself start to panic.

"Why didn't you come get me? What if something is wrong? We need to get you to the hospital and have everything looked at…"

"Relax! I was concerned about it, so I had Steve check everything out and my blood pressure was low."

"How low is low exactly?"

"Umm…90/50…"

"Are you serious? Do you know how dangerous that is? We need to get you to a hospital and find out what is going on that's causing your blood pressure to practically bottom out like that."

"Punk there's no need for that, I already know what it was and I fixed it." Punk chewed his lip curious what could have caused it and then shook his head in frustration when it dawned on him.

"You didn't eat today did you? You were too preoccupied with the new book to even take ten minutes to eat. Do I have to sit with you and make sure you're eating?"

"Will you stop being so dramatic!"

"No I will not! This isn't just your health that you're jeopardizing, but my child's as well and I'm not okay with that." Liz had managed not to get defensive or upset, but something about hearing Punk say "my child" set her over the edge.

"Last time I checked this was our child! I apologized and I admit forgetting to eat was stupid, but as soon as I noticed something was wrong I had everything checked out. It wasn't right of me to try to keep this from you, but this is why I did it because I knew you would panic and freak out. I'm okay, she's okay and you lecturing me is causing me to get worked up, which guess what, isn't good for my blood pressure. So, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have Steve make sure everything is okay and I'll be on the bus." Liz grabbed her things shoving them in her bag and stormed out the door. Once she was down the hall, she stopped to compose herself and calm down. Her heart was racing and her hands were shaking. After a few deep breaths, she made her way to the trainer's room where Steve checked her blood pressure giving her good news, but reminding her to take it easy for the evening. On her way out, she ran right into Punk. Letting out a deep breath, she tried to go around him, but he wasn't having it.

"Can we talk for a minute please?"

"Is there really anything to talk about?"

"I think there is, so will you please take a walk with me so we can talk?"

"Punk you have a show to do, it can wait."

"No the damn show can wait, this cannot." Liz let out another deep breath pushing her hair behind her ear.

"Fine, let's go." Liz turned toward the parking garage on her way to the bus with Punk following close behind her. Despite him needing to talk right now, he didn't say anything until Liz opened the door to the bus, both of them boarding. Liz put down her bag before sitting down and meeting his dark hazel eyes. "You said you needed to talk, but you haven't said a thing. What exactly are you waiting for?"

Punk rubbed the back of his neck as he sat down beside her leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "I'm sorry I overreacted, but you have to understand where I'm coming from. Yes there are a lot of happy pregnancy stories, but for every happy one there's a bad one too. I love you and I love our baby, so sue me for lecturing you, but I worry about both of you."

"I know you do and with the exception of today, which was caused by my own stupidity, everything has been fine. I'm right on target with my measurements and my weight gain, but I need to cut back on stress. I'm going to talk to Vince about pushing this book back. As much as I want to do the project and I love doing it, it's not okay that I was so wrapped up in something that I neglected to take care of myself. I also think maybe I should go home earlier; as much as I love being with you on tour, I miss our mutt." Punk laughed as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head.

"I managed to get out of this weekend's house shows and I was planning on doing something special for you, but I'm okay with going home."

"Then it's settled, I'll book our flight for Friday. You should probably go get ready for Raw before they send a search party looking for the champ."

"Before I go, and please don't get mad at me for asking, but are you okay? You're not dizzy or anything are you?" Liz couldn't help but smile over his concern.

"No babe, I'm okay. Steve checked everything out and I'm alright; Mia and I are just fine."

"Mia?"

"Yeah I wanted to ask your thoughts, but I've been tossing around the name Mia. It means 'my dear.' It goes well with Lynn though, Mia Lynn Brooks; any thoughts?"

"Mia, it's short and simple with a beautiful meaning. I think it's a keeper." Liz smiled as Punk leaned down to kiss her. "I better go, but I'll see you in a bit mama, Mia." Punk smirked at his corny joke as Liz rolled her eyes.


	14. Chapter 14

**It's been a few days since I've been able to update seeing there's been a lot going on, but I'm happy to finally get a free minute! This chapter features a small glimpse of how Colt and Ginger are doing as well as some unexpected things going on with Punk and Liz...**

* * *

Ginger let out a deep sigh as she glanced at yet another negative pregnancy test. Colt and Ginger had been trying to have a baby for almost two months, but nothing was happening. As hard as it was to stay composed, Ging tried her best not to get frustrated or upset knowing it wouldn't help matters. After grabbing a quick shower, Ginger went into the bedroom where Colt was watching Conan O'Brien. He figured seeing her wet hair that the test was negative, but wasn't sure what to say about it. To him it wasn't a big deal, they were just starting, and it was supposed to take a while. Punk and Liz had waited out three almost four months before they were successful, so Colt figured they were right on track. Ging climbed into bed and laid down letting out a sigh, which Colt took as his cue to speak. Pulling her close to him, he turned off the TV giving his eyes a minute to adjust to the darkness.

"It was negative." Colt swallowed at the sadness he could hear in her voice, but reminded himself everything was okay.

"No big deal, we'll just keep trying."

"We've been trying for almost two months."

"I know that, but it takes time. You don't want to give up do you?"

"No, I want a baby, your baby, it's just frustrating. When I got pregnant the last time it was within a month, so I don't understand why it hasn't happened yet."

"Don't stress about it. It'll happen within time. Do you feel like we need to go to the doctors and get things checked out?"

"I don't know, do you think it's too soon for that?"

"Personally yes I do, but I haven't been through this before, you have. If you feel like something isn't right then we'll go get everything checked out."

"What about fertility treatments?"

"Ahh…I think they're a little extreme and you're jumping too far ahead, but I'll leave you to make that decision. I think it's crazy to get a shot everyday and it could possibly take some of the fun out of the baby making process, but I could be wrong."

"Well if it doesn't happen by next month then I think we need to look into these options."

"I'm fine with that if it's what you want." Colt pressed his lips to Ging's forehead as he draped his arm over her side stroking her lower back. "I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

Friday morning Liz was up early after feeling some discomfort and cramping. She hadn't thought much about it as she got in the shower and brushed her teeth. She hadn't slept well due to the stress of making sure she had everything packed to head home. On top of that she was out late with Punk and the rest of the roster who insisted on throwing her a bit of a farewell party. As sweet as the gesture was, Liz was out way later then planned and the bags under her eyes were very visible. While applying her make-up, she felt another cramp in her stomach that made her cringe slightly, but it subsided quickly making her think it was possibly something she ate. Once she was finished, she settled in and ate a quick breakfast before checking over her luggage again. Punk appeared with a cup of coffee in hand and smiled when he saw Liz was already up and ready to go.

"Hey I figured you'd still be asleep after last night."

"I had planned on sleeping longer, but Mia decided to kick me in the ribs, so I'm up."

"Ouch, let's hope this isn't a sign of the troubles we'll have with her in the future."

"I couldn't agree more! Are you ready to go?"

"Ready when you are. I called Shay this morning and Louie is very excited to see us."

"Please tell me you waited until at least 8 to wake the poor girl."

"Nope, called her at 5:30 this morning; I figured it would give her ample time to clean up the house."

"Both her and Cassie have known for days we were coming home, I'm sure the house is already cleaned."

"That's where you're wrong. I grew up in the same house as these two, I saw all the last minute party clean up when my parents were out of town and I witnessed first hand the destruction of my apartment the times I didn't call and say I was coming home, so I gave them a heads up."

Once they boarded the plane to Chicago, Liz immediately got to work on her children's book. Vince had agreed to give her an extra month, so she had worked it out that if she worked on it at least two hours a day, she'd have no problem. Besides that she wanted something to distract her from the cramping in her stomach. Letting out a deep breath, she felt the pain subside a bit and got to work.

Twenty minutes later Punk was reading when he noticed Liz moving around. He knew she had planned on working during the flight so that she could relax once she got home, but she'd put her iPad down and hadn't touched it. Before he could say anything, he noticed her relax again letting out a deep breath. Not wanting to overreact, he returned to reading his book and felt Liz take his hand and lean her head against his shoulder. At first he figured she was planning on sleeping seeing she had been up late, but then he felt her squeeze his hand. She squeezed harder and harder to the point where he thought for sure she was going to break his hand. He turned his attention to her ignoring the pain and noticed tears in her eyes.

"There's something wrong…"

"What's wrong?" Once again she tightened her grip on his hand and he grinded his teeth together to keep from groaning in pain.

"I think…I'm pretty sure that I'm having…contractions." Punk's eyes went wide when she said contractions and he immediately reminded himself that he could not panic even though he badly wanted to.

"Okay, calm down. You're only seven months along, I doubt its contractions. What is the pain like?" Liz thought for a minute before describing what she was feeling thinking it was stupid seeing Punk knew as much about child birth as she did. He could read all the books he wanted, but when it came down to it, he didn't have a clue.

"It's in my back, sharp pains…then it's a cramping feeling in my stomach. Please promise me that Mia won't be born on a plane over Kentucky." Punk mentally freaked out when Liz said that knowing that she was really in labor and the baby could very well be born in the first class section of a Southwest Airlines flight. That thought alone got his mind racing on what to do.

"I promise you Mia won't be born on a plane. Besides your water hasn't even broke yet, it takes hours to deliver a baby, you're okay. I'm going to go talk to a flight attendant about landing this plane at the nearest airport so that we can get you to a hospital." As Punk went to get up, Liz gripped his hand tighter causing him to let out a groan. "Baby I need you to let go of my hand so I can get help."

"No, don't leave me." Punk felt an agonizing pain in his chest at the sound of her words.

"I'll be right back I promise, but we need to get you to a hospital. It's too soon for Mia to come, I'll come right back to you and I promise I'll stay with you the whole time." Punk pushed some of Liz's hair out of her face meeting her eyes. After a few seconds, she finally let go and Punk jumped up to find the nearest flight attendant.


	15. Chapter 15

**Currently watching wrestling shows via Netflix, so I figured why not update...**

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Thirty minutes later the plane made an emergency landing at Indianapolis International Airport. Punk had hoped that the contractions would just go away and this would all turn out to be nothing, but instead they'd gotten more intense and closer together; two things that he knew couldn't be good. Punk frantically followed the paramedics off the plane feeling like he was in a daze and hoping that he was going to wake up and this would all be a nightmare, but it kept going. Liz was practically in shock with everything going on around her as she was loaded into the back of an ambulance and stuck with half a dozen needles.

Once they arrived at the hospital, Liz was rushed into the emergency room area while Punk was told he had to wait. He fell into a waiting room chair trying to piece together what was happening. He needed to call someone and let them know what was going on, but his head was spinning with what ifs. This wasn't how their family was supposed to start and he couldn't help but blame himself for taking her on tour to begin with. If she wouldn't have toured with him, then she wouldn't have had the extra stress in her life and this wouldn't be happening right now. He took a deep breath before dialing Colt's number.

"Hey buddy, are you guys home already?" Punk was quiet not sure how to say what he was about to say. Colt sensed the silence and became worried. "Punk, what's up buddy?"

"We're in Indianapolis at the hospital; Liz went into labor on the plane." Unable to hold himself together anymore, Punk bowed his head as his eyes clouded with tears.

"Oh my God man, do they know why?"

"They don't, but I do. I should've never taken her on tour with me. She's been so stressed over her new book, the travel schedule, trying to take care of herself and me; this is my fault."

"Phil don't blame yourself, stuff like this happens all the time. I'm sure everything will work out fine."

"I don't know, Liz is barely into her third trimester. If we lose this baby she'll be devastated, I don't know what to do."

"Go to her, hold her hand, just do everything you can to stay strong. Either Ging or I will be there as soon as we can. Have you called anyone else?"

"No, you're the first on my list. Can you please call my sister, my parents and have Ging call Liz's parents and let them know what's up? I can't handle it right now and I don't have answers to give people."

"Not a problem, call me if you hear anything and hang in there buddy." Punk took a deep breath as he hung up the phone and hung his head as he rubbed his hands over his face.

"Mr. Brooks?" Punk stood up approaching the oncoming doctor.

"Yes, please tell me you have good news." The doctor looked at him and Punk could tell that he had news, but it wasn't good.

"We attempted to stop the progress of your wife's labor, but unfortunately her water broke. At this time there's nothing we can do other then deliver the baby by cesarean section." Punk ran his hand through his hair as he paced the hallway.

"When is this happening?"

"They're prepping her now, so within the next twenty minutes. Do you want to be in the room?"

"Yes of course."

"Follow me then and we'll get you some scrubs." Punk followed the doctor down the hallway feeling heaviness in his chest. This was supposed to be a life changing moment, a happy moment, but instead his daughter was going to be born two months too soon. She'd be underdeveloped and there was a slim chance she'd make it. Granted Mia was a Brooks, so she was a natural born fighter, but the thought of planning a funeral plagued Punk. If Mia didn't make it, he knew Liz wouldn't be able to live with herself.

* * *

Mia Lynn Brooks was born at 5:05PM and immediately taken to the NICU. She weighed a little over three pounds and as Punk looked at her hooked up to the different machines, he wondered what he ever did to deserve this.

Taking a deep breath, he walked back to Liz's room where she was asleep. He'd updated Colt, who in turn told him that his sisters, Liz's parents and Ginger were on their way. Under the circumstances, he didn't want to deal with people, but he knew they all had the best intentions and being alone wasn't the best idea right now. After fiddling with his phone, he'd finally made a call to WWE headquarters and broke the news to Vince that he wouldn't be returning to work for some time and surprisingly the boss didn't argue or make him forfeit his title saying he'd get creative to figure something out. Sitting in the silence, Punk's thoughts ran rapid until the sound of Liz's voice broke through them.

"Punk…where am I?" The doctor had briefed him that the stress and trauma on top of the emergency c-section could cause Liz to be disoriented, so he wasn't concerned even though he really didn't want to be the person to explain what had happened.

"We're in Indianapolis at the hospital." After she blinked a few times, a tear slid down her cheek.

"Oh my God, Mia; please tell me she's not…" Punk swallowed the lump in his throat hating that Liz even thought that.

"No, she's okay…she's in the NICU and if you want we can go see her later. She's tiny, weighing in a little over three pounds, but she's a fighter already." Liz wiped the falling tear off her face and let out a deep breath.

"Yes I want to see her…I'm so sorry this happened." Punk pulled Liz close to his chest as she started to cry harder.

"Don't blame yourself; this was not your fault. If there's anyone to blame then blame me."

"What? No, you've been amazing through everything. I'm the one who was stubborn and didn't listen. I should've stayed home, I shouldn't have let the stress get to me, but I did and now here we are."

"I won't let you blame yourself, in fact neither of us should be blaming ourselves or the other person. Things like this just happen, but in our case everything will work out, I just know it."

"What makes you think that?" Punk wiped the tears from Liz's face as he smiled at her.

"Because I can tell already that she has my fighting spirit and your stubbornness; she's going to make it, I just know it."

* * *

**AN: If you read Whatever Happens, there will be an update by the end of the week...I've been stuck creative wise and even when I do get an idea, it's one thing to think it and another thing to actually get it on paper! Currently watching Edge's documentary, so hopefully that will help...Please review! :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Kind of left you all hanging last chapter...The next few chapters focus mostly on Liz, Punk and everything going on with Mia, no worries though Ginger and Colt will make their return in a BIG way...enjoy and please review!**

* * *

Liz put down the book that she had been staring at for over an hour. She'd read the same sentence at least half a dozen times, but couldn't focus on anything but Mia. Punk had finally fallen asleep after being up for almost 24 hours and even though she had tried, Liz hadn't been able to sleep. Between worrying about Mia and dealing with visiting family, she'd been distracted. Pulling herself out of bed, she put on her robe and slippers deciding to sneak down to the nursery. She knew she couldn't see Mia yet, but she took comfort in seeing the healthy babies praying silently to herself that Mia would join them soon.

Punk and Liz had taken a trip to the NICU the night before to see Mia and to find out what the preemie would have to overcome. As expected, her lungs were underdeveloped, so she was hooked up to a C-Pap machine that helped her breathe. On top of that, she was slightly anemic and jaundice. The biggest concern was the lung infection that had developed. Seeing that her lungs were underdeveloped already, the infection was making matters worse. Liz had surprisingly taken the news well knowing that crying wasn't going to make anything better and Mia needed both of her parents to be strong.

Staring through the nursery window, Liz had begun to zone out when she felt someone tap her shoulder.

"Mrs. Brooks?" Liz turned around to see the young neo-natal nurse, Christie, standing before her.

"Hi Christie, my apologies I kind of zoned out."

"I understand; if you'd like you can come see Mia."

"Yes that would be great, thank you." Liz followed the young nurse down to the NICU and scrubbed up before entering the sterile environment. "How's she doing today?"

"She seems to be doing well. She's on her second round of antibiotics and so far the response has been positive. Also she's keeping her food down, which is a good sign. She might be little, but she's a tough one."

"My husband seems to think so too." Liz walked over to the incubator where Mia laid sleeping and smiled as she reached her hand in stroking at Mia's little fingers. Her eyes welled up with tears, but she reminded herself to be strong. She sat quietly for a few minutes just touching Mia and relishing in the feel of her baby soft skin.

"I think you should talk to her, it seems to help with a lot of the preemies. She's used to hearing your voice, so it'll soothe her." Liz nodded and thought of what to say. "I'll leave you two alone; if you need anything just yell."

"Thank you Christie." Liz took a deep breath as she looked at Mia. She smiled taking in the tiny bow that the nurses had put in her hair, she didn't have much, but from the looks of it she'd have the same dark black hair as her dad. "Hi Mia, I'm your mommy and I've been waiting to see you for some time now. I'm happy you're here, even though it's earlier then expected, it's still nice to meet you and I can't wait to hold you. I've been trying to figure out who you look like and I think more then anything you look like your dad, but don't tell him I said that. We both love you very much and we've wanted you for a long time, so hang in there. You've got a lot of people waiting to meet you including three aunts, an uncle and four loving grandparents. Stay strong and keep fighting, if you're as stubborn as I am, then I know you have nothing to worry about. I love you Mia Lynn."

* * *

Punk woke up and groaned at the crick in his neck. It was merely impossible to sleep in a hospital, but he'd managed; there was no way in hell he was leaving his girls even though everyone tried their damndest to take over. Not only was he worried about Mia, but he was worried about Liz's well being. He could tell she still blamed herself even though the doctor had made it perfectly clear that there was no explanation as to why Mia was born early; simply saying "sometimes these things just happen."

He stood up out of the recliner and stretched hearing different parts of his body crack and pop. Looking over at the empty hospital bed, he wondered where Liz had gone. Punk opened the door and noticed Liz coming down the hallway. He could tell she hadn't slept, which added to his list of worries about her, but there was a hint of a smile on her face; something he hadn't seen since before they boarded the flight home.

"You're awake? I wasn't expecting you to be up yet." Liz stood on her tiptoes to kiss Punk.

"Yeah well sleeping in that chair isn't as comfortable as it looks. You okay?"

"I'm alright; I'm sorry I didn't say anything about leaving, but you need your sleep and I needed to get out of this room, so I took a walk down to the nursery and got to see Mia." Punk was slightly disappointed that Liz had gone to see Mia without him, but he chose to push the feeling aside not wanting to seem jealous.

"How's our girl doing?"

"She's doing better. Christie said she's on her second round of antibiotics and she seems to be responding well. Plus she's keeping her food down, which is a good sign. Are you mad I went without you?"

"I'm not mad, a little disappointed."

"I'm sorry, I didn't think they would let me see her this early and then when Christie said about it I couldn't say no. I wanted a few minutes with her, alone. Besides you need to sleep."

"I got a good four hours, I'm fine now."

"Phil I'm not going to argue with you about this. We both need to be strong for Mia and I know that you're the stronger of the two of us, but you can't be what she and I need unless you take care of yourself."

"I'm not leaving this hospital without you and Mia."

"Baby please, I'm worried about you. Please just go to the hotel, take a shower and get some rest. You need to get out of this hospital." Punk tried to protest, but he knew Liz was right and he wasn't any good to either her or Mia in the state he was in.

"Alright fine, but I'll be back this afternoon and I'm going to see Mia before I leave. While we're on the topic of sleep though, I want you to rest as well because all that stuff you just said to me applies to you as well."

"You're absolutely right, so why don't you come lay down with me because you know I can't sleep any other way." Punk smiled kissing her forehead.

"Alright then let's go get some rest."

* * *

Punk woke up finding Liz asleep in his arms. He carefully slipped himself from her grip and quietly got out of bed. After making sure she was content, Punk left the room heading for the NICU to see Mia. After scrubbing up, he sat in the vacant rocking chair beside her incubator and reached his hand in to touch her. She wrapped her finger around his and he smiled.

"That's quite the grip you've got, just further proof that you're tough like me. I'll admit though I'm not as tough as I come off. All this worrying over you and mommy kind of has me a mess right now and I'll be very happy when we can all go home and be a family. You'll get to meet Louie; he's the big golden lab that still thinks he's a lap dog. He's been very protective, so I know he'll take good care of you and help mommy when I'm not home. I've already talked Aunt Cassie and Shaleine into helping too, which didn't take much convincing. They've wanted to be aunts for a long time, so they're very excited to officially meet you. You're loved by a lot of people, the big ones being me and mommy of course, as well as Uncle Colt and Aunt Ging. Mommy and I have been friends with them for a long time and they're kind of crazy, but I think you'll realize that everyone is. Anyway, I'm rambling and if your mom finds out I'm still at the hospital I'm in for it. I'll be back later to see you, so I'll see you then. I love you Mia, I love you more then anything in the world."

Punk kissed his hand placing it on the incubator and smiled wiping a tear from his eye. He didn't cry, mostly because he was a guy and guys do everything possible to keep their emotions in check, but he could feel his hard exterior softening now that Mia had arrived. There was no doubt in his mind that she'd be a daddy's girl, which made him smile even bigger.


	17. Chapter 17

**The last few chapters have been heavy on the emotional side, but I promise the next couple will have a happier side to them...I can't promise it'll last though! Thanks for the reading and reviewing...enjoy!**

* * *

Liz was able to leave the hospital after three days, something that she was happy about, but at the same time Mia had to stay behind, which made her feel lost. One of the worst feelings in the world is leaving a hospital without your baby and it was something that Liz struggled with. The one thing that kept her going was that Mia was doing much better. She was still responding well to the antibiotics and the jaundice was clearing up. Liz and Punk visited the hospital multiple times a day, but after two straight weeks, it was wearing on both of them.

One afternoon while visiting the hospital, Punk came up with an idea and went to talk to the doctor while Liz sat with Mia talking to her.

"Mrs. Brooks."

"Christie, please call me Liz."

"I apologize, it's a habit. Anyway, I was wondering if you'd like to hold your daughter." Liz was caught off guard by the question.

"What? Are you sure it's safe?"

"Yes she's doing much better and I think she'd like it."

"Absolutely, I've been waiting for almost three weeks, so yes I'd like that." Christie smiled as she prepped Mia to be taken out of the incubator. Liz took a deep breath as Christie placed the still tiny Mia in her arms.

"Christie can you please go track down my husband for me? I'd hate for him to miss this." Christie acknowledged her request leaving Mia and Liz alone. Liz stroked the hair on Mia's head and took in her scent. Punk came into the room unaware of what was going on seeing Christie has simply said "your wife needs you." He'd just gotten good news and now his mind was racing with what that meant. As he walked closer he noticed the empty incubator and panicked for a minute until he heard Liz laughing.

"Is this really happening?" Liz looked up to meet Punk's hazel eyes, a big smile on her face.

"Yes it is and you almost missed it. Where did you go?" Punk knelt down taking Mia's hand.

"I've got good news. I just talked to Dr. G and tomorrow Mia is going to be transferred to the NICU at Chicago General. She said she'll probably have to stay in the NICU at least another week, but then she'll be moved to the nursery where she'll stay for a week tops. Then we'll be able to take her home."

"Wait is there a reason why they're transferring her?"

"Yes, I requested it. We can't keep living in a hotel, we need to go home."

"While that's true, I wish you would've talked to me about it. She's used to it here; she's getting phenomenal care here."

"I agree they're doing a fantastic job, but Chicago General's NICU is one of the top in the US. I promise you I've done my homework when it comes to Mia being there and she'll be in good hands."

"Well I won't lie it'll be nice to go home and see Louie, I'm sure he misses us. Plus we have three weeks tops to get a nursery pulled together so Mia has somewhere to sleep."

"I told you countless times not to worry about that; I have it taken care of."

"So you've said, it still worries me what you're up to though. Anyway, would you like to hold your daughter?"

"Do you really have to ask? I didn't think you'd ever give her up." Liz smiled as she handed Mia over to Punk and watched his hazel eyes light up. Seeing Punk hold Mia for the first time was something that Liz swore she'd never forget.

* * *

Liz and Punk boarded a plane to Chicago later that evening and to say they were both nervous was an understatement. The idea of flying wasn't on the top of either of their lists seeing the last time they tried to fly home Liz went into labor. Neither of them liked the idea of leaving Mia alone either, but soon she'd be home, soon they'd all be home.

Walking in the front door, Louie immediately greeted both of them. Liz walked into the living room as Punk escaped upstairs. She was exhausted from getting very little sleep at night staying up and worrying about Mia instead. Even though Liz knew there was nothing to worry about and that the situation was out of her control, she still woke up nightly in a panicked state, one that never wore off until she would visit Mia again. Punk knew she wasn't getting a lot of sleep, but he didn't realize how bad the situation was; Liz had become very good at hiding her sleeping issues. Relaxing on the couch with Louie at her feet, Liz texting her mom when she heard Punk yell for her. Letting out a groan because she had to get up from the comfortable position she was in, she went to the bottom of the steps and yelled back.

"Yes…"

"Come here please, I need your opinion on something." Liz let out another groan as she started up the stairs.

"Where are you?"

"In here." Liz followed the sound of his voice into the guest room across from their bedroom. Once she noticed the pale pink walls, the tears started to fall. What was once a beach themed guest room was now Mia's room. The walls were a pale pink color and the furniture was black. The letters M-I-A were hung above her bed and Liz noticed framed photos adorning the walls including one of Punk holding Mia. Liz touched the picture while wiping at her eyes. "I told you I had it covered." Liz turned to see Punk sitting in an antique rocking chair.

"How…when…"

"I had a lot of help and paid a bunch of people, but Shaleine and Cassie did the decorating even though I picked everything out. It's been ready for a while now." Punk got up wrapping his arms around Liz's waist and pulling her close to him.

"You are nothing short of amazing." He rested his chin on her head debating if he should tell her the bad news now or later. Before he could decide, Liz pulled back and looked at him. "What's wrong?" He took a deep breath.

"Well I heard from Vince today and they need me back to work as soon as Mia comes home."

"What? Why so soon? I thought they were going to give you at least a month off."

"That was the plan, but with Mia coming early, they had to improvise to fill in for my absence. They can't stretch the champ's absence much longer, they're starting to lose revenue and you know it's never a good thing when money is lost. I talked to Vince about the option of me going on Raw and dropping the title, but he really doesn't want to go that route. I'm kind of stuck."

"It's okay."

"Really? You're not just saying that so I don't feel bad are you?"

"No, I understand your hands are tied and you had to go back to work sooner or later. On the upside at least you'll get to be here when Mia comes home. We'll get settled in just fine and it'll give me some time to bond with her seeing I don't feel like I've done that enough."

"I'm sure everything will be fine. She's a good baby and you'll have Shay and Cassie around plus Ging and Colt are coming back to Chicago next month. There's a lot of people for you to lean on for support and I promise you the minute I can get home to both of you I won't hesitate to take it."

"I love you so much and thank you for doing all of this."

"It was the one thing I could do that I knew I wouldn't screw up and it lessened the burden on you; and if anyone should be thanking anyone, I should thank you."

"For what?"

"For being an amazing woman and giving me a beautiful baby girl; you have no idea how thankful I am for both you and Mia, I can't even put it into words. I love you Liz."


	18. Chapter 18

**It's Monday! Which means it's a Raw night :) Short chapter, but it's better then nothing, plus Ginger and Colt are making an appearance :)...attempting to work on the wrap-up of this story while also working on Whatever Happens, working on two stories at one time is harder then I thought, but it's keeping me busy :) Keep the adds and reviews coming...Enjoy :)**

* * *

Two weeks later, Punk and Liz left the hospital with Mia. Liz sat in the backseat admiring the sleeping baby in her pink frilly tutu dress as Punk drove ridiculously slow. She had to laugh at how careful he was being because usually Punk drove at least ten miles over the speed limit where now he was driving twenty miles under.

"Babe, it's okay to drive a little faster, it won't hurt I promise."

"Liz I'm driving at a perfectly acceptable speed. Besides you shouldn't be worried about me, you should be worried about the nut jobs driving at fast speeds cutting me off."

"Well they probably wouldn't cut you off if you weren't driving like a grandpa. At this rate it's going to take thirty minutes to get home and we only live ten minutes from the hospital."

"Will you cut me some slack here? I thought you'd be happy I'm driving safely with Mia in the car."

"You can drive safely and go the speed limit and Mia won't mind, I promise. In fact she's about due for a feeding, so she'd probably appreciate it if you upped the speed." Liz caught site of Punk's smirk in the mirror and smiled as he started driving the speed limit. Once they got home, Punk went inside first to calm Louie down before Liz followed in carrying the car seat. Punk held onto Louie's collar as Liz slowly sat the car seat on the floor.

"Louie this is Mia." Louie looked at Punk, then back to Mia. He looked at Liz, then back to Mia. He sniffed at her before licking her foot and backing away. Punk and Liz weren't sure what to think of the reaction, but as Liz carried her upstairs, Louie was on her heels laying in front of her crib as Liz sat in the rocking chair feeding her. As Liz got up, Louie stood up tilting his head to the side as Liz placed Mia in her crib and turned on the monitor. Liz turned to leave the nursery calling for Louie.

"Louie, come on boy, let's go." Louie laid down in front of the crib where he had been and Liz shook her head as she closed the door behind her. Liz went downstairs carrying the video monitor and joined Punk on the couch.

"Did she go down easy?" Liz nodded as she set the monitor on the table and cuddled close to Punk. "Where's Louie?"

"He's upstairs guarding the crib. I guess we won't have to worry about him after all."

"I kind of figured he'd be that way. How does it feel having her home?"

"I'm thrilled that she's finally home where she belongs, but at the same time I hate that you have to leave tomorrow."

"I know, I don't like it either, but life isn't always fair. Please let me get up with her tonight because you need all the sleep you can get."

"No, that's not fair to you and you have an early flight tomorrow."

"I want to do it and you need to rest because starting tomorrow night you're on your own. That is unless you give in to Shaleine and Cassie."

"No and no, the offer for them to move in temporarily is sweet, but I can handle it. I promise if I need help I'll ask for it though."

"Good because there is no excuse for you to stress yourself out, there are plenty of people you can call. As for me, I'll be calling multiple times a day to check in on you two, so get used to it."

"I'll be looking forward to those calls and trust me you have nothing to worry about. I've got this under control."

* * *

Ginger packed the last of what she needed into her carry on and checked back through Leon's bag. She and Colt were about to embark on a flight to Chicago where they were staying for the month while Leon was visiting his grandma in Pittsburgh. The getaway couldn't have come at a better time because Ginger was at her wits end. With the stress of Liz having the baby early and still not having conceived her own child, she needed to getaway. Granted taking a vacation in the middle of baseball season wasn't the best idea, but she didn't care. Her brother had stepped up to take care of things, so she was free to go.

"Hey babe, are you almost ready? We need to get to the airport soon or we'll miss our flight."

"Yeah I think I have everything I need." Ginger kept her eyes focused on the task at hand rather then looking at Colt. He knew she wasn't in the best place seeing she'd been disappointed time and time again. They'd gone to the doctor's and both had a full work up, but everything came back fine. Against his opinion, Ginger had decided to go on fertility treatments, which had taken any ounce of romance and fun out of love making. The idea of sex had become more of a chore and Colt hated it, so much so that part of him wanted to give up on having a baby, but he could tell Ginger wanted one, so he kept up with it for her.

"Okay well Leon and I will be in the car." Colt grabbed the two suitcases off the bed and headed downstairs. Ginger rubbed her temples already feeling a headache coming on as she double checked her purse making sure she had the tickets and her ID. Letting out a deep breath she reminded herself to calm down. She'd been very short tempered lately, worse then usual, and she didn't want this trip to start out the same way.

* * *

**AN: Randomness, but if you don't listen to Colt's Art of Wrestling podcast, I highly recommend you visit and listen to episode #100 where Punk interviews Colt :) It was 65 minutes of goodness and for all of you who adore CM Punk like I do, it's an extra dose between Raw and Smackdown!**


	19. Chapter 19

**So just a warning this chapter, some people might think it's too graphic, but I worked really hard doing research (yeah I'm a dork and I research things so they're accurate) and the portrayal is quite fitting...Enjoy, or at lest try to...**

* * *

Things with Mia started out great. Liz had started her on a routine that she seemed to be taking to, but Liz was still having a hard time. She almost never slept. When Mia was awake, she was awake holding Mia, and when Mia was asleep, she spent the time either cleaning or laying awake staring at the video monitor. Just as she'd start to doze off, Mia would make a noise that would wake her and she'd have to get up and check to make sure everything was okay. It was wearing on her, but she still refused to ask for help. Then the second week with Mia hit and Liz found herself falling apart.

She'd noticed since Punk left that she'd cry over stupid little things, but just figured it was from a lack of sleep. Despite people stopping by or offering to help, Liz never took them up on the offer. The walls of the house had become the only place she'd known seeing she feared the idea of taking Mia outside of the house, but didn't trust anyone enough to stay with her. She wasn't motivated to do anything other then clean, and she'd even started to neglect that task. Punk called late Wednesday night as Liz was feeding Mia. As much as she should have looked forward to these calls, she loathed them. He was out traveling the country doing who knows what with who and she was stuck at home with a baby. Letting out an irritated sigh, she answered.

"Hello."

"Hey babe, how are my two favorite girls?"

"We're fine." Punk noticed the short responses and the different tone in her voice, but figured she was tired after spending all day with the baby. He'd talked to Shaleine and knew that Liz was wearing herself thin not wanting to go out or leave Mia with anyone, but he understood she was anxious. After everything they'd been through it was understandable.

"Well that's good to hear."

"Yeah, I'm just trying to get her adjusted to her schedule, but it's been rough. Can I call you later, she just fell asleep and if I don't lay her down now then I know I won't."

"Okay, I love you and I'm trying to work it out where I'll be home next weekend."

"Sounds great, I'll talk to you later." Liz hung up the phone and gently laid Mia down. Picking up dirty laundry from around the room, Liz heard the wind pick up and looked in Louie's direction as a tree branch hit against the side of the house causing the dog to bark loudly waking up Mia. "God damnit Louie!" Taking a deep breath, she stood still for a few minutes hoping Mia would soothe herself to sleep, but after five minutes there was no such luck. Walking over to the crib, Liz picked up the baby and started to walk the floor bouncing her gently, but after a half hour, the baby continued to wail. Liz reminded herself to stay calm as she stripped Mia out of her pajamas and checked her diaper only to find she was fine. Liz stood for a minute thinking of what she could do. Mia had just ate, so she wasn't hungry, and she didn't need changed. After redressing the baby, Liz headed downstairs and loaded Mia into her car seat deciding to take her for a drive.

She drove around for an hour, but Mia continued to cry. After pulling into the driveway, Liz got out of the car taking a few deep breaths to try to bring on an ounce of sanity before getting Mia out of the car. She remembered her mom telling her stories about her having colic as a baby and her mother having to spend hours in a steamy bathroom, so she decided to give it a shot.

Once the shower was on and the bathroom started to steam up, Liz stripped Mia of her pajamas again and held her against her bare chest. After another hour, Liz had hit her breaking point as Mia continued to scream, which caused Louie to bark. Liz laid Mia down on a towel and walked out of the room to the other side of the house where she could still hear the faint sounds of her daughter screaming. She left herself go crying hysterically. She hadn't had a full nights sleep in months, her emotions were up and down and she was alone. He had promised her she wouldn't be alone, but here she was on a mere three hours of sleep dealing with a screaming baby and a barking dog by herself while he was on the road probably having sex with one of the divas.

The paranoia pushed her over the limit as she sat on the floor, covering her ears, squeezing her eyes shut and rocking back and forth. _I could make this all go away. Just grab a pillow, she'll go to sleep, she'll be at peace. It'll be quiet, the noise will go away and you'll be able to sleep._ Liz's eyes shot open as her thoughts came to a realization. She grabbed a trash can and threw up the little contents that were in her stomach. She needed help from someone that wouldn't judge her. Grabbing her phone from her bedroom, she checked on Mia who was still crying and Louie who was still barking. Trying to control her hysterical crying she went into the nursery and stared at her phone. _I should call Punk, he needs to come home. No, if he finds out about this he'll take Mia and he'll leave. I'll never see either of them again._ It was 3AM as she flipped through her contacts and hit the first number she saw.

Ginger blinked looking at the clock as she answered the phone wondering who in the hell was calling at 3AM. Answering the phone with sleep still heavy in her voice, she wasn't prepared for what was on the other end.

"Hello."

"Ging…I…need…you." Ginger could barely understand anything Liz was saying seeing she was crying hysterically and she could hear Mia screaming in the background.

"Liz, what's wrong?"

"She won't stop…I've tried everything, I fed her, changed her, took her for a drive and even sat in a steamy bathroom and she won't stop crying. I don't know what to do."

"Okay just calm down she's probably just gassy or she has colic. Use the gas drops and just stay in the shower. If it's colic it could be a while, but she'll stop eventually."

"Can you please just come down here; I need to get away from her. She's not safe around me."

"Really Liz? She's a baby; babies cry a lot, it doesn't make you an unfit parent because your baby is crying."

"You don't understand I'm thinking things I shouldn't be thinking." Ging was puzzled when she said this.

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean." Liz was quiet for a few minutes as she recalled the horrific thoughts that had brought her to making this phone call.

"Please don't judge me for this. I'd never hurt her, I love Mia more then anything, but I'm not okay right now. I haven't slept more then four hours in months and…" Liz felt herself starting to go into hysterics again. "I had thoughts…thoughts that involved me suffocating Mia…dear God how could I let it get this bad?" Ginger never thought she'd hear Liz say those words, but she didn't hesitate to go to her.

"Liz give me five minutes and I'll be there, call Punk I'm taking you to the hospital." Ginger hung up the phone as she threw on a pair of jeans leaving Colt's shirt on. Rather then waking him and getting a lot of questions there was no time to answer, Ginger wrote a quick note saying where she was and to call later for an explanation. She ran out the door and down the street to Liz and Punk's house. She used her spare key to get in and went straight upstairs where she found Liz sitting in the nursery looking catatonic. She opened the door to the guest bathroom and found Mia laying on a towel. Leaning down to pick the baby up, Ging shut off the shower before turning back to the mess that was Liz.


	20. Chapter 20

**Another day, another update...it might sound crazy seeing I said this would be the LAST Ginger and Liz story I wrote, but I'm trying to wrap up this one and keep getting ideas for another one...it's crazy I know, but the ideas keep flowing and I'll probably end up writing a fourth installment...For right now though I'm trying to wrap this one up and work on Whatever Happens...there's a lot of ideas I have for Gabby, so be on the look out for an update there...read and please review and add :)**

* * *

It took a while, but Ginger managed to get both Liz and Mia calmed down. Liz had laid down and went to sleep while Ginger rocked Mia smiling at the tiny baby. This was all she wanted, a baby of her own, and here was Liz with a beautiful one and she couldn't handle it. Ging felt the tears well up in her eyes. When did her life start revolving around having a baby? The days consisted of fertility shots, ovulation tests and scheduled sex. When she and Colt decided to have a baby, she never imagined they'd be scheduling sex based around her ovulation schedule and temperature. If she was honest with herself, she would have given up a long time ago, but she knew Colt wanted a baby of his own and she wanted to give him that.

Mia finally fell asleep a little after 4AM, so Ging laid her in the crib before retreating to the guest room to get some rest. She'd already planned on taking Liz to the hospital and hoped that she'd willingly admit herself. Ginger had never seen someone so sleep deprived and couldn't help but wonder how Liz functioned at home alone with a baby. She had gotten a few calls from Punk about her behavior, but seeing Ging hadn't seen it first hand she didn't think it was cause for concern. Now that she had seen it and Liz had gone to the point of thinking harmful thoughts, all she could do was encourage her friend to get help and she had a feeling it wouldn't take much to do that.

Ginger woke up just after 8 and checked the video monitor seeing that Mia was still fast asleep. Getting out of bed, she walked down the hall and found Liz packing a bag. Ging noticed she looked much better then she had the night before, but the bags under her eyes were still really heavy.

"Hey, what are you packing for?"

"I've decided to check myself into rehab for depression. I haven't been myself since I got pregnant and I realized last night just how bad it was. I can't keep living the way I am, or I'm going to end up hurting myself or someone else. Those thoughts that I had…actual visions…it was so real it terrified me. Thank you for coming down last night, I know you're here on a vacation and I feel bad for calling, but I didn't know what else to do."

"It's okay Liz I'm just glad that you did call me. You were in a bad place last night and I think you're making a good decision getting help. Is Punk on his way home?" Liz stopped packing and sat on the bed.

"Uh yeah I called him this morning and let him know what was going on. He's going to meet me at the facility, he's not sure when he'll be able to get time off."

"What do you mean he doesn't know when he'll be able to get home? Did you tell him everything?" Liz swallowed as she nodded her head.

"Yeah I told him everything. He's in a tough spot though seeing he had over a month off when Mia was in the hospital, so he has to work around the schedule he's given." Ginger was unsure if Liz was telling the truth at first, but decided to trust her. Liz had been through a lot, but she wouldn't keep things like this from her husband.

"Okay, so what about Mia? Do you need me to stay with her?"

"If you could do that would be wonderful. Anyway, I need to get to the airport, my flight for California leaves soon."

"Wait you're going the whole way to California for treatment? What the hell is that about?"

"I thought about this and it's just what's best. I researched this morning and it's one of the best facilities in the country plus they have a spot open. I don't want to leave my daughter, but right now I'm not of any use to her. I'm a mess and I need to get myself straightened out and I feel this is what I have to do."

"Liz you could go to the hospital and stay the weekend, they'll hook you up with a therapist and medication; there's no reason for you to go all the way to California. I don't think it's a good idea."

"You may not agree with my decision, but it's what I need to do right now. Thank you for looking after Mia and for helping me through last night, I honestly don't know what I would do without you." Liz walked over to Ginger and gave her a hug before gathering up her bag and going to say goodbye to Mia. Liz looked down at her sleeping daughter and smiled as she felt tears well up in her eyes. "Goodbye Mia, mommy will be back soon, but I have to go away and get better so that I can be the best mommy possible for you. Be good for Aunt Ginger and remember I love you more then anything." Liz kissed Mia on the top of the head and wiped the tears that had fallen down her face.

* * *

On Friday afternoon, Ginger had just laid Mia down for her nap when she heard the door close. Louie jumped up from his spot in front of the crib and took off downstairs. Listening closely she heard Punk greeting Louie. _Wait a minute; I thought he was meeting Liz in California? I guess there must have been a change of plans, who knows, I'm never told anything. _

"Honey, I'm home." Punk yelled up the stairs only to see Ginger appear at the top of the stairs. He was instantly confused, but didn't think much of it.

"Will you keep it down, I just got your kid to sleep, which is not an easy task."

"Sorry Ging, you're babysitting? How long did it take you to convince Liz to get out of the house? I was starting to get worried because it seemed like she was becoming depressed." Ginger stopped at the bottom of the stairs frozen in place.

"Are you fucking with me right now? When is the last time you talked to Liz?"

"Wednesday night, she was really brief and frankly pretty bitchy, but I figured she was just worn out from being with Mia all day. I tried to call her yesterday, but all I got was her voicemail, but I was coming home today to surprise her anyway, so I didn't make a big deal of it. Is there something I'm missing?"

"Phil you need to sit down."

"Why do I need to sit down? What's going on? Is Liz okay, is Mia okay?"

"Calm down; Mia is fine, she's upstairs fast asleep. She's been doing great, your wife on the other hand I can't say the same thing about."

"Ging just get to whatever you're getting to. Is she okay?"

"No she's not. She called me at 3AM Thursday morning completely freaking out. Mia had been crying for over four hours and she couldn't get her to stop…"

"So then there is something wrong with Mia, I need to get her to a doctor."

"No, that's not necessary, honestly she's okay. She was colicy, it hasn't been as bad the last two nights and there's nothing to treat it, you just deal. Anyway Liz couldn't deal with it."

"I don't understand where is she? Where the fuck is Liz?"

"She left yesterday for a rehab facility in California that specializes in depression."

"So wait, she just left Mia and took off for California? What the hell has gotten into her?"

"I volunteered to take care of Mia, but I don't really understand why she felt she couldn't deal with her problems here in Chicago. I don't feel comfortable telling you everything, but she was in a bad way. I guarantee she's maybe been sleeping four hours tops every night and she gave up on everything. She wouldn't leave the house, she didn't trust anyone to watch Mia, she needed help." Punk stared at the floor before running his hands over his face.

"How did I not see this? How could I let this happen? None of this would have happened if I would've walked away from the company; I would've been here and she wouldn't have done everything alone."

"Punk you can't blame yourself. Liz hasn't really been herself since she got pregnant and everything got worse when Mia came early. Granted taking care of a baby alone isn't the ideal situation, but you said it yourself there were a lot of people willing to step up and help. She pushed them all away."

"I don't know what to do in this situation; do I stay with Mia and just let her be, or do I go see her? I know one thing there's no way in hell I can get anymore time off work; I'm pushing it as it is. This is not how things were supposed to end up. I had this vision of coming home to a happy wife and a healthy baby and nothing is what it seems."

"You don't have to worry about Mia, I'll be happy to look after her for as long as you guys need me to. I think you need to sit down with Liz and find out everything including why she kept this from you."

"Well she doesn't know that I know anyway, so I'll stay home with Mia for the weekend. It just so happens Raw is in California Monday and I don't have to do Smackdown, so I'll go talk to her then. You should go be with Colt right now, I know this is kind of like a getaway for you two and neither of you planned to watch my kid."

"No we didn't plan to watch your kid, but it's been a nice distraction from everything else. Are you sure you're okay with everything? Maybe you should get some sleep, she might have plans for a long night!"

"Well I'm more of a night guy myself, so I'm sure we'll get along just fine. Thanks for everything Ging, I don't know what I'd do without you and Colt."

"If you need anything don't be afraid to call. I'll be back Sunday afternoon and I'm really sorry I had to be the one to tell you about Liz. She said she told you everything, so I thought you knew."

"I don't know why she's withholding all this stuff from me. I call her twice a day and try to get her to vent to me about her thoughts or feelings and I usually get nothing. I just hope this rehab will help her get it together because I'm not too happy right now. This is something that she should have talked to me about or at least told me, and the fact that she just left Mia, I don't understand where her head is right now."

"Just talk to her Punk and whatever you do try not to judge her because I think she's been judging herself a lot lately. Just listen to her first, granted she needs to open up more, but it's not worth her time if no one listens."


	21. Chapter 21

**I decided to put down the Shades of Grey series and update/work on my neglected stories...I must say I've decided if Christian Grey and CM Punk were one man, I would do pretty much anything for that man!**

**Anyway, off topic, thanks so much for the new adds and reviews I received :) I hadn't gotten any for a while and was beginning to wonder if anyone was still reading this, but the feedback was good and helped me to write even more...Enjoy Punk & Mia bonding :) oh and there's plenty of Ginger and Colt goodness this chapter!**

* * *

It was rough at first, but Punk and Mia adjusted to each other. Friday night he sat in the rocking chair with Mia snuggled against his chest. He rubbed small circles on her back and listened to her breathe softly; he felt content for the first time in a long time. Even though he didn't want to put her down, he knew she'd be more comfortable, so Punk kissed the top of her head and carefully placed her in bed hearing her contented sigh. He smiled to himself in that moment; she was so much like her mother. Quietly closing the door behind him, Punk wandered over to the master bedroom and stretched out on the bed. He wasn't tired, but he knew he had to attempt to sleep; the idea of sleeping alone wasn't on the top of his list. With Liz traveling with him, he'd become accustomed to rolling over and having her beside him. The last few weeks on the road without her had taken a toll on him and he expected it did the same to her, but he didn't think it was this bad. Letting out a sigh, he rolled over and watched Mia sleeping peacefully on the monitor and smiled. _At least one of us is going to get some sleep._

* * *

Punk woke up the next morning hearing Mia making little noises. After stretching, he got out of bed and walked across the hallway letting out a yawn as he opened the door.

"How's daddy's girl doing? Did you sleep well? It might be hard to believe but even daddy slept more then three hours!" Mia smiled as Punk talked to her. After getting Louie situated and getting both of them ready for the day, Punk called Shaleine and set-up a day in the park. Getting Mia, Louie, the stroller, diaper bag and everything else together was more work then Punk had bargained for, but after twenty minutes, they were ready to go.

Once they got to the park, Punk went to work setting up the stroller, which was more complicated then he expected. As he struggled, Mia started to cry, which caused Louie to bark and passer bys to stare. Punk stopped for a minute to compose himself before hearing a familiar voice behind him.

"Would you like some help?" Punk smirked at the site of his little sister who had a knack for showing up right when he needed her.

"Yes, help would be appreciated. The kid is screaming, the dog is barking and this god damn stroller is broken."

"I'm sure it's not broken, you just don't know how to set it up."

"Shay I'm telling you I've done everything, the damn thing is broken. Talk about a waste for $250 bucks!" Shaleine shook her head as she went over to the stroller and had it locked in place and ready in less then a minute. "How the hell did you do that?"

"It's a common stroller, pretty much every family I babysitt for has the same one; it's not that complicated, you just need patience."

"Well thank you as you can see I'm new at this."

"You're new at this? Really? I never would have guessed!" Punk glared at his sister's sarcastic remark.

"Will you just make yourself useful and get Mia out of the car please!" Shaleine opened the door and smiled seeing her niece. Leaning down to pick her up she had to laugh at her over dressed appearance.

"I like how your daddy dressed you for a royal tea party for a trip to the park!"

"Hey I heard that! Get off my back, I'm new at this. Besides she looks adorable; then again she is my kid, so she'd look cute regardless what she wears." Punk smirked getting an eye roll from Shaleine. Once Louie was on his leash and Mia was comfortable in her stroller, Punk and Shaleine walked laps around the park before finding a bench in the shade.

"So are you going to tell me what's bothering you?"

"There's nothing to tell, I'm alright, happy to be home with Mia even if it is only for the weekend. She's getting so big already, it really sucks that I'm not home."

"You could change that you know. Not only would it be good for Mia, but it would give Liz a break."

"You're right, but I can't quit right now. There's a limited amount of talent as it is, but I've already told the front office I want to slow down soon; I can't keep going at this speed. As far as Liz goes I don't know what to do or think. She just left without even telling me what was going on. I don't know where her head is right now."

"Punk I don't think she knows where her head is thus she had to get away. I don't understand why she didn't ask for help, Cassie and I both offered over a dozen times, but she was bound to do it herself. Don't give up on her yet, she's a great mom. I think she's just struggling being by herself. Think about it she traveled with you for how many months, then you were together while Mia was in the hospital. She just got used to being with you all the time and you had to leave again."

"That's all true, but I've left you guys and you remained in one piece."

"It's not easy and you're forgetting that Liz's hormones are still going up and down. When you go see her take it easy on her; hear her out, you're usually pretty good at listening."

"I'll try my best, but it won't be easy. I'm not as upset that she didn't talk to me about any of this as I am that she walked out on Mia." Shaleine looked at her niece sleeping in the stroller and smiled.

"Poor Mia…she looks a lot like you, that's not a good way to start out!"

"Screw you Shay because everyone said you looked like me as a baby too, so jokes on you! I happen to think my daughter is the most beautiful baby in the world, but I'm sure you think I'm bias."

"No I'll admit you finally did something right with Mia, she's beautiful and she's incredibly lucky to have two amazing parents."

"Thanks Shay, that means a lot to hear you say that."

* * *

Ginger stared at her reflection in the mirror as she let out a deep breath. She was currently getting ready for a dinner date with Colt, something that was supposed to be a good thing, but already she wasn't looking forward to it. She was tired, crabby and had a raging headache, something that she had become accustomed to thanks to the hormone injections.

"Hey babe are you almost ready?" Ginger let out a sigh when she heard Colt yelling from the bedroom.

"Yeah I'll be out in a minute." She waved her hands feeling a hot flash coming on before applying more cover up to mask her deep red cheeks. After slipping on her shoes and grabbing her purse, Ginger reluctantly took Colt's hand as they walked toward the car.

The drive was a quiet one and Colt knew already that the night wasn't going to be pleasant. It didn't matter if he took her out somewhere or if they stayed home and watched a movie, she was moody 95% of the time and he couldn't take much more. His wife, the fun loving red head that loved her son and was a competitive gamer, had become a raging bitch and Colt was pretty sure the hormones were to thank. He stopped the car in front of Tru and handed the valet the keys before walking over to open Ginger's door only to find she had already vacated the car and was inside. Colt took a deep breath reminding himself to stay calm before following her in.

"Reservation for Colton?" Ginger nodded at the hostess as she ushered the two to a quiet table near the back of the restaurant. "Your waiter will be right with you." Ginger quietly perused the menu as Colt thought about starting a conversation. Clearing his throat, he dove in head first.

"Any idea what you're getting?"

"No, I'm not very hungry, so I'll probably just get a salad or something." Colt grit his teeth. He had picked the nicest restaurant and all she wanted was a salad. Using the menu to shield his face, he let out another deep breath to keep himself in check.

"Sounds good, I'm thinking the prime rib." He put down the menu to see Ginger pull out her phone and start texting. He was beyond pissed at this point. Here he was trying to do something nice for his wife and she had the balls to text over a five star dinner that was going to cost him what he made at two Chikara shows. Colt tried to hold his tongue, but after five minutes she was still texting, so he calmly spoke. "Who is so important that you have to text them right now? I'm trying my damndest to treat you to a nice dinner and you're kind of ruining it." Ginger glared at him as she let out an agitated sigh and put her phone away. Who the hell did Colt think he was telling her what to do? He had no idea what she was going through, what her body was going through, just so that he could be happy and get the baby that he wanted so badly.

"If you must know I was checking in on Punk making sure everything was going okay with Mia."

"Are you serious?" Colt balled up his hands feeling frustration course through his body. "As if it's not enough that you took care of their kid for two days now you're texting him while we're out on a date, this is ridiculous!" Ginger was appalled by his reaction taking the napkin from her lap and throwing it on the table.

"The only thing that is ridiculous around here is you! You're acting like a child! Punk and Liz are our friends and they both need help right now, so sue me for trying to step up and act like a friend. The only reason why you're pissed off about all of this is because I wasn't around to take care of your every whim. You're 32 years old Colt and you can't even take care of yourself! I came home to a sink full of dishes and your dirty clothes scattered everywhere! You're not a bachelor anymore, man the fuck up and take some responsibility." Colt licked his lips as he also threw his napkin on the table.

"You know damn well that I care about Punk, Liz and Mia, but you didn't even tell me anything that was going on, I had to call you to find out. As far as being a slob you're right I could do more, but I'm a guy and guys never clean up after themselves. Every since you started this fertility treatment shit you've been nothing but a bitch. You don't appreciate anything I do for you, tonight being a prime example!"

"Face it Colt the real reason that you're pissed off is because you haven't gotten laid in three days! As for the fertility treatments, I only got on them so that you could have what you wanted because clearly you're not man enough to make a kid the old fashioned way!" Colt had heard enough as he got up from the table throwing down money.

"Do me a favor, call me when my wife comes back."

"No you do me a favor and realize you're the person responsible for me being a mess. You know what I'm done, congratulations Scott now you won't have to worry about kids or a wife!" Ginger got up from the table and stormed past Colt to exit the restaurant. Looking around Colt could see people were staring, but he didn't care as he walked out and waited for the car to be pulled around.


	22. Chapter 22

**Working on finishing up this story today so that I can focus on Whatever Happens...no worries though there's still quite a few chapters left to post...**

**Read, review and enjoy!**

* * *

Ginger took a cab home feeling relief when she saw she'd gotten back before Colt. Opening the front door, she went straight to the bedroom where she stripped out of her clothes and got into a hot shower. It took a while for her to feel any emotional distress, but once the tears started they didn't seem to stop. She knew she was out of line placing all of the blame on Colt, but the frustration that she let build up over the last few months just exploded with Colt as her target. Once she got herself pulled together, she got out of the shower and took her time drying off before climbing into bed. Just as she clicked off the bedroom light, she heard the front door close signaling Colt had arrived home. She wasn't sure if he'd try to talk to her or just spend the night on the couch, but she secretly hoped he'd take the talking route and they'd be able to work things out.

Colt had stopped at the bar and drank two beers as a way to help him calm down. To say he was worked up when he left the bar was an understatement, but as he drove he realized that Ginger was hurting just as much as he was. They had decided together to have a baby, something that should have brought joy to their life, but instead it brought stress, frustration and a lack of communication. It wasn't worth it any more; they were both miserable and on top of that even the fertility treatments hadn't made a difference. Sitting on the couch he figured he should make himself comfortable seeing that's where he'd be sleeping, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized he needed to talk things through with Ginger now.

Walking back to the bedroom he noticed it was dark, so he walked over to the nightstand and clicked on the light before he started to undress. Ginger laid awake, but for once she wasn't sure what to say. Rolling from her side to her back, she sat up watching him undress.

"Colt…I just wanted to say I'm sorry…You didn't deserve to be treated that way, but you have to understand I'm a mess right now physically and more so emotionally. I made the decision to get hormone shots because I thought it's what you wanted. I thought you wanted a baby with me, but if you feel differently now I understand." Ginger was quiet waiting for a response from Colt. It took a few minutes for him to compose himself, but he knew what he had to do. Sitting down next to her, he took her hand holding it in both of his.

"Ging I still want to have a baby with you, but you aren't you right now. These hormone shots have turned you into a miserable person and I hate what you've become. As much as I want a baby with you, I think it's best if we just stop trying right now. We've put so much stress on ourselves and each other that it's not worth it. Sex is no longer romantic or fun and that's not what I want."

"I understand and I agree. We've been working so hard at this that I think a break is exactly what we need. This way we can take a few months, regroup and decide if it's worth it to try again."

"So we're in agreement to wipe the slate clean and revisit this at a later time?"

"Yes we are in agreement and I've never felt so relieved to agree to something with you!" Colt smiled as he kissed Ginger's hand before leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on her lips. Once they parted he turned off the light and pulled her close. Ginger laid on his chest listening to the rhythmic beat of his heart and smiled to herself. This was all she wanted from him; to be loved unconditionally.

* * *

It was 3:30 in the morning and Punk was still awake with Mia. As she screamed in his ear it echoed through the bathroom. It was at this moment that he understood how Liz felt. He'd tried everything from walking the floors, to putting her in her swing and finally settling in the bathroom with the shower emitting steam. Regardless what he did or said she kept screaming. He was beside himself with exhaustion actually noticing himself starting to hallucinate; shaking his head he tried to clear his mind, but it was hard to focus with a screaming three month old. _What the hell did I get myself into? Is my child bi-polar? Last night was a breeze getting her to go to sleep and tonight I get this. I can't handle this, damn you Liz for not being here to take your shift!_ As he thought about Liz he realized she'd been dealing with this for weeks where this was his first encounter, which made him feel pretty selfish. Rubbing his eyes, he thought about what else he could do and decided to call Ginger because she always knew what to do in these situations.

Ginger's phone vibrated on the nightstand and she groaned rolling over to retrieve it. She rolled her eyes when she saw it was Punk, but answered it anyway.

"Phillip why the hell are you calling me at this hour?"

"Ging I'm sorry, but she won't stop screaming! I've done everything I can think of, everything that I've read in the books, but she still keeps screaming. I don't know what to do; she's teething, but doesn't want anything to do with the teething ring, washcloth or any of that stuff."

"So you're calling me why?"

"I don't know I thought maybe you might know what to do, or better yet you might be willing to help."

"Jesus Christ, you and your wife seem to think that just because I had a kid that I'm a god damn baby whisperer! This is getting ridiculous…" Ginger heard Punk sigh on the phone and knew the he didn't want to ask for her help, but he was new at this and had yet to learn the ropes.

"I'm sorry Ging, just forget I even called. I'll figure something out."

"No I'll be there. I'm sorry for snapping, but I'm exhausted and I know Mia can be a handful; give me ten minutes." Ginger hung up the phone and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She nudged Colt gently and told him she was going to help Punk with Mia. He made a noise of acknowledgement, but she wrote him a note just in case. On her way out of the house, she grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the liquor cabinet. She guaranteed that was the one thing Punk never thought of to help with Mia's teething and she needed a shot herself after the long day.

Exactly ten minutes later Ginger walked into the front door of Liz and Punk's house only to find Punk walking the floor with Mia in only his boxers. She watched for a minute and could literally see his eyes drifting shut. Ginger walked over and took Mia from him, which he willingly let her do, and headed up to the nursery with Punk following behind. He noticed the bottle of whiskey in her hand and tried to think why she would have it, but his mind was beyond thinking mode. Punk followed her into the nursery as she laid a crying, red faced Mia down on the changing table and took the whiskey bottle in the other hand.

"Ging, what are you doing?" Ginger didn't answer Punk as she took the cap off the bottle and dipped her finger in it before putting her whiskey soaked finger in Mia's mouth. "What the hell? Are you boozing my kid to get her to sleep? This is a horrible idea, you know what just leave I've got it taken care of. Obviously asking you for help will bring on a child services investigation which is the last thing I need!" Ginger ignored Punk as she rubbed the whiskey over Mia's gums getting a positive reaction. Mia started to calm down as Ginger picked her up.

"Punk I think you need to go to sleep."

"I think you need to give me my kid! It's not okay to liquor up a baby; Christ why don't you just top off her bottle!"

"I'm ignoring everything you're saying right now because you're clearly sleep deprived. Mia isn't drunk by any means, the whiskey helps numb her gums so they won't hurt so bad. It's a trick that you won't find in the baby books. Now go to bed so I can put Mia to bed and try to get some sleep myself." Punk attempted to protest, but Ginger placed a hand on his bare chest pushing him out of the nursery and into the master bedroom. Punk stumbled into the room before turning toward the queen size bed.

"Fine! I'll go to bed, but not because you're telling me to. You can't tell me what to do, I'm an adult." Ginger shook her head at his less then adult behavior, but quickly turned away as he stripped out of his boxers collapsing on the bed naked. Not wanting to look back, she closed the door behind her returning to the nursery.

"Mia your parents are both slowly losing it! Lucky for you I'm here. Stick with me kid and I'll make sure you grow up somewhat normal!"


	23. Chapter 23

**Another update and it's about to get weird! You need conflict and drama for a story to thrive, so here comes a loop...Thanks for the two anonymous reviews, I'll take reviews anyway I can get them...**

**Last night I started another story...despite currently having 3 unfinished stories and 1 in the works, I threw another one into the mix...attempting to hold off on it so I can finish this and get Whatever Happens rolling again, but once an idea hits, I feel the need to follow it, so it may be posted sooner rather then later!**

**Anyway...please read, review if you can and as always enjoy! :)**

* * *

Punk woke up the next morning with a headache from hell. He could hear Mia babbling from her room as he groaned putting a pillow over his head. This was probably one of the few times in his life that he wanted to go back to bed and could probably use a few hours of sleep, but he knew Mia needed to stay on her schedule, so he tossed aside the pillow and removed to the blankets only to realize he was naked. _What the fuck?_ Punk tried to think about what had happened the night before, but his memory stalled after he had called Ginger. He was too tired to think and his pounding head didn't like his attempt, so he got out of bed and threw on a pair of shorts before going to retrieve Mia.

"Oh Mia Lynn please take it easy on daddy today, last night was rough enough." Punk picked Mia up as she laughed. "Oh you think this is funny? I figured you would, lucky for you I still have a little bit of my sense of humor this morning and your laugh is too damn cute to not love." Punk smiled as he went to place her on the changing table noticing an open bottle of whiskey. "Where the hell did this come from?" Punk recapped the bottle and picked it up examining it more closely before thinking again just what happened last night. _I know I was desperate for sleep, but I wasn't this desperate was I?_ Punk shook his head moving the bottle aside so that he could change Mia and get her ready for the day.

Once they were both dressed, Punk headed downstairs to make breakfast; a bowl of Kashi for him and a bottle for Mia. In the midst of preparing Mia's bottle, he heard his phone buzzing and found it on the kitchen counter. He had a new text message from Ginger and raised an eyebrow as he read it: **Hey sorry about last night, I didn't mean to act that way. Hopefully you slept well because I did, call me later.** Punk was really beside himself now as he started to connect the dots. _I woke up naked, there was a bottle of liquor in Mia's room and now Ging is sending me a text that sounds more then friendly._

"Dear God please tell me I didn't go there…I couldn't have gone there, Liz and Colt are two of the most important people in my life, and I wouldn't betray them like that. There's also no way I would drink, not ever, nonetheless around Mia." Just then Mia cried out causing Punk to snap out of it and turn his attention back to his daughter ignoring his thoughts of betrayal. After all there was no way, right?

* * *

Ginger was cleaning around the house, surprised that Colt had taken it upon himself to start the laundry, waiting for Punk to drop off Mia. Despite Colt's original concerns about Ginger taking on the responsibility of caring for Mia, he understood the situation better now and knew that now was the time to help out their friends. Ginger had just rinsed the last dish placing it in the dish washer when the doorbell rang. She ran to answer it finding Punk balancing Mia and all of her stuff. Ginger smiled when she saw how comical he looked with bags on both shoulders, Mia in one arm and his own suitcase in the other hand.

"You look like you could use some help, here let me take Mia." Punk kept a grim look on his face as Ginger took Mia and he walked into the house. He set everything down in the dining room before turning back to Ginger. He avoided eye contact with her as he spoke, which puzzled Ginger. Punk was an upfront honest person who always made eye contact with who he was talking to.

"Okay so I brought the pack and play for her to sleep in, there's plenty of clothes, diapers and wipes in the pink bag and I also packed her formula and multiple bottles in there. Her feeding schedule is about every two hours and she usually naps four or five times a day. I picked up some baby orajel this morning, so that's in there along with her favorite teething ring and her stuffed bear."

"Punk thanks for informing me, but I just took care of her last week and I've been helping out a lot, so I know what her schedule is. She'll be just fine, I promise. Are you okay though? You don't seem like yourself."

"Ahh yeah I'm good, just hate to say goodbye, but the good news is I'll be home this weekend, so only a few days to get through."

"Well that's good to hear. Have a safe flight to California and remember when you see Liz to take it easy on her."

"I think after what happened last night it's the least I can do. I feel guilty for what happened." Punk made eye contact with Ginger for the first time since he walked in the door.

"There's no reason to feel guilty, things like that happen all the time; don't blame yourself."

"Wow, I can't believe you're just whatever about this, I don't even know if I can live with myself." Ginger was confused to say the least.

"Punk I think you need some more sleep…you better go before you miss your flight."

"I do need to get going." Punk took Mia from Ginger and held her close. "I'll see you later baby girl. Daddy will be home Friday night and hopefully mommy will be with me. Until then make sure you're good for Aunt Ging and Uncle Colt." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head before he handed her back to Ginger. "Cassie will be at the house all week taking care of Louie so you don't have to worry about him. She said she'd gladly look after Mia if you and Colt need a night out or something."

"Well that's good to know and we'll probably take her up on that. Like I said have a safe trip and don't worry, we'll be just fine here." Punk kissed Mia again before Ginger pulled him in for a hug. He left his hands at his sides feeling awkward from the embrace, which seemed to last for some time. Once Ginger finally let him out of her grip, Punk quickly turned grabbing his suitcase and heading to the car. He paused once he was behind the drivers seat. _It's pretty clear that we did something and she doesn't even regret it. I'm dying inside because I've betrayed my wife and my best friend of 15 years and she thinks it's nothing. What the hell am I going to do about this?_


	24. Chapter 24

**Thanks so much for the new adds and reviews, plus reading this story to begin with...I wrapped it up the other day, so 6 chapters to go; I decided a fourth installment may be in the works depending on the feedback I get at the end of this one, but I also have to finish Whatever Happens and the other two stories I'm currently working on, so Ging and Liz will be on hiatus for a bit...**

**Speaking of Liz, a lot of the reviews I've been getting are wondering where the hell she went, recap she went off her rocker thanks to a bad case of post partum and checked herself into rehab for depression in California...Punk is in Cali and paying her a visit...read to find out how that goes over and please continue to add and review :) Enjoy!**

* * *

Liz had just gotten back from a therapy session and she was considering taking a walk on the beach. She'd been at rehab for over a week, but still hadn't found a way to call Punk and tell him. Despite talking about her fears in therapy, she hadn't been able to confront them. At this point she hoped she'd be home before he was. She picked up the picture of Punk and Mia when he had first held her and started to tear up. She missed them both terribly, but she knew she was where she needed to be. The first two days she was there were spent with her resting. She hadn't slept a full night in months, so it felt good to relax and let go of everything around her giving into her exhaustion. From there she'd attended both group and individual therapy sessions. Liz had met a woman by the name of Molly who had a similar experience that didn't have the same results. Molly had suffered from postpartum after the birth of her twin boys. Even though she had a number of people helping her, she still felt overwhelmed which led to an attempted overdose. She'd gone straight to rehab after leaving the hospital and she had been there for almost a month. Her husband was concerned not only for her well being, but to leave her alone with the boys worried she'd either attempt to harm herself again or this time turn her frustrations on their sons.

Liz took the picture and put it inside a journal before putting on Punk's Rancid hoodie and going out into the cool evening air. She walked along the beach before finding a quiet spot and sitting down to write. The experiences of the last few months had brought on a lot of emotions that Liz was in the process of writing about. She wasn't sure if she'd do anything with her writings maybe just keeping them private, but at the same time she knew there were a number of women all over the world going through the same things that she was dealing with and publishing her journal could help them. Pushing the thought aside for now, she put her journal to the side and watched the sun dance across the ocean hearing the waves crash in and out. She was so distracted by the beauty of nature that she didn't notice the person approaching her until he sat down. Liz jumped slightly until she realized it was Punk.

"Jesus Christ you scared me Punk…wait you're here…how did you know where to find me?"

"I went home Friday and Ging told me you had left. Liz why didn't you tell me what was going on?" Liz felt the tears sliding down her cheek.

"I tried, honestly I did, but I was afraid of what would happen. I didn't want you to take Mia from me and leave."

"Why do you think I would do that? I'd never take Mia from you; I know she means the world to you."

"Because if it was me and you completely lost it like I had I'd keep Mia from you to keep her safe. She wasn't safe with me, so I had to getaway and change that."

"Liz I know you were unstable emotionally, but you're acting like it got to the point where you wanted to hurt Mia." Liz was quiet for a minute as she wiped some of the tears from her cheeks taking a deep breath.

"Phil I was worse then you think. The last night I was with her I was severely sleep deprived, Mia was screaming, Louie was barking and I slowly felt my sanity slipping away. I did everything to try to calm her down and nothing was working, so I walked to the other part of the house, closed the door and just started to cry hysterically. Sitting there crying I had a vision of suffocating her…I thought about killing my own daughter…once I came to I realized what I was thinking, which made my hysterics even worse. All I wanted to do was call you and tell you to come home and make everything better, but this inner voice told me that once you found out how far gone I was that you'd take Mia and I'd never see either of you again. It might sound rash and unreal to you, but in that moment there was nothing more real or terrifying to me." Punk sat quietly taking in everything that his wife had just said unsure of what to say. Liz wiped more tears from her face as she cradled her knees close to her staring at her feet in the sand. "I know what I just said to you was pretty shocking, but please realize I'd never do anything to hurt Mia. I thank God everyday for her just like I thank God for you. I wish I would have dealt with my sleep issues and the stress from her coming early before it got to this point, but I didn't and I deeply regret that. I shouldn't be here; I should be at home with Mia and with you. Please say something."

"I'm sorry you had to go through this alone, I should have been there. There were signs that I saw from a mile away and I ignored every single one of them. I thought we were both invincible and if we could get through Mia's early delivery then we could get through anything. I'm so sorry I didn't do more to prevent this." Punk wrapped his arm around Liz pulling her close to him and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I know you wouldn't hurt Mia and even though I was angry that you left her to come here, now I understand that you needed to get away. What can I do to help you through this?"

"Just be there as much as you can. No matter how much I push you away remind me that you're not going anywhere. All I want in life is to be happy and being with you and Mia makes me happy."

"I feel the same way; I wouldn't be me without you and Mia in my life. I made some calls and found a therapist in Chicago that specializes in postpartum cases. I completely understand if you feel like you need to be here right now, but I'm hoping sooner rather then later you're ready to come home because we need you there; Mia needs her mommy and I want my best friend back."

"I want those things too, but I'd like to finish out the week here. It'll give me a chance to say some goodbyes."

"Well I'm heading home Friday and I think Mia would love if you came with me, I know I'd love it, but I don't want to push you if you aren't ready."

"You know what, Friday sounds perfect. Thank you for coming and being so understanding, just another reminder of why I love you so much."

"I like to think that patience and understanding are my top strong points." Punk smirked getting a smile from Liz. He cupped her face in his hands and pressed his lips to hers giving her the reassurance that he wasn't going anywhere.


	25. Chapter 25

**Some filler stuff to get to the next part, but it's worth the wait...Thanks for the adds and reviews...Enjoy :)**

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Punk made a last minute decision to head home Thursday evening. Liz was still planning on coming home Friday afternoon, so he figured he'd head home and get the house ready while spending some one on one time with Mia. When he got off the plane, he checked his messages and found out Ginger had dropped Mia off at the house with Shaleine, something that came as a relief. Punk hadn't thought much more about the night Ginger helped him with Mia and what may or may not have happened. He was trying to get things back on track with Liz and get to know his daughter better, so the last thing he needed going through his mind was the idea that he'd slept with his best friend's wife.

He walked in the door and found Cassie playing on the couch with a smiling Mia. Punk couldn't help but smile in return hearing Mia giggle as her aunt played a game of peak-a-boo with her.

"Hey Cas, having fun?"

"We are having a good time. Mia has been so good today having fun with her auntie; I don't think I've ever seen such a well behaved baby." Punk laughed thinking back to the long nights from the weekend before.

"Trust me she's not always this cooperative!"

"I doubt that! Anyway, I thought you were coming home tomorrow with Liz? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah everything's good. I just had the opportunity to come home a day early and I wanted to see my girl and get everything ready for Liz."

"Is she ready to come home?"

"We talked about it and she wants to be here. I talked to her about seeing a therapist here in town that specializes in postpartum cases, which she agreed to go see. Also there are a lot of support groups for depression, so hopefully she'll be back to herself in no time. I think the biggest thing is she needs to ask for help when she gets overwhelmed."

"Well you should know better then anyone that sometimes your pride gets in the way of asking for help. However, I love spending time with Mia, so anytime you need me just call. I'm going to head out and catch up with a few friends, but like I said call me if you need me."

"Thanks for everything Cas and be careful! Make sure you're home by 11!" Cassie rolled her eyes at Punk's attempt of giving her a curfew. Mia wasn't even four months old yet and already Cassie felt bad that she had such an overprotective dad knowing first hand that he wasn't going to lighten up anytime soon.

* * *

After a flight cancellation and countless delays, Liz finally boarded the 7:15 flight to Chicago. She was anxious to get home, but any anxiety she felt was subsided at the thought of going home to Punk, Mia and Louie. She questioned if it was too soon for her to leave rehab, but the fact that she had already sought out a therapist in Chicago helped her feel more prepared.

Liz got home just before 10 and quietly entered the house finding Punk asleep on the couch with Mia curled up on his chest also in a deep sleep. She leaned in the doorway of the living room smiling at the two people that meant more to her then life itself and knew she was right where she needed to be. Liz quietly walked over to the couch and sat down.

"Hey babe I'm home." Liz whispered as she ran her hand over the back of Punk's hand. He stirred slightly opening his eyes before rubbing the sleep from them.

"Hey did you just get in?"

"Yeah, I called you earlier to let you know my first flight had been cancelled and the second one delayed. The first one I was able to get out on was the 7:15, so it's a good thing you came home yesterday."

"I honestly couldn't tell you where my phone is right now. Mia and I had quite a day."

"I can see that seeing you were both fast asleep by 10. You're both night owls, so that's practically unheard of."

"I didn't plan on falling asleep, but once she did she looked so peaceful, so I figured I'd try it too. I'm sure I'll regret it later when I'm wide awake at 3AM."

"At least I'm home to entertain you!" Punk smiled as he shifted trying not to wake Mia.

"I'm going to take her upstairs and lay her down…"

"Do you mind if I do it?" Punk shook his head as Liz did her best to move Mia from Punk's chest to her shoulder without waking her. They both realized just how out of it she was when she didn't move at all.

Liz walked up the stairs and down the hall to the nursery. Before putting Mia in her crib, Liz carefully changed her into her pajamas and then decided to sit in the rocking chair and take a few minutes with her. Liz looked down at the sleeping angel and was amazed how much she seemed to have changed over the course of a week. Her hair was coming in dark and thick, just like her dads, but to Liz's surprise it had some curl to it, just like hers. Her cheeks were fuller and she'd definitely gained some weight based on how heavy she felt. Liz laughed to herself as the sleeping baby let out a deep sigh, which she assumed was Mia's way of letting her know she was content. She looked like Punk, but she acted just like Liz. Finally after ten minutes, Liz heard Punk clear his throat and looked up to see him leaning in the doorway. She took that as her hint to lay Mia down and let her sleep, hopefully through the night. Once she laid Mia in the crib, Liz looked down at her for a minute as Punk joined her.

"Let me be the first to say I think we make beautiful babies."

"You're only saying that because she looks like you!"

"Well that might be part of it, but I really think we do. Just so you know, despite everything, you're a great mom."

"Do you really mean that?" Punk tilted Liz's chin so that she was looking at him.

"Yes I really mean that. You did the right thing deciding to get help. I know from experience that it isn't easy to leave her, but you put your personal feelings aside and did what you had to do so that you could be an even better mom. I love you even more for that."

"That means a lot coming from you. Even though you're not here as much as I know you want to be, you're an even better dad then I ever imagined you to be. You're so good with her. There's not a lot of men in this world who could step up and take care of their child by themselves, but you're in the group that can handle it." Punk smiled even though looking into his wife's eyes he felt a pang of guilt because he hadn't been able to take care of Mia himself. He had asked for help and he'd also possibly made the biggest mistake of his life. The brief memories of Ginger helping him that night and the state he woke up flashed through his head making it spin. He looked away from Liz and started out the door.

"What do you say we go to bed? I'm more exhausted then I thought and I'm sure after spending the day in the airport you're ready for bed as well."

"You have no idea!"


	26. Chapter 26

**Fast forward this chapter...**

**Thanks so much to TrissKins and Ivy for the reviews :) Also thanks to anyone else who is still reading this soap opera!**

**Only 4 chapters left to post...enjoy!**

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Punk left on Sunday for a month and half long tour and Liz was left feeling sad and worried. Sad because he was gone, but worried about the way he had been acting. Granted there had been a lot going on since their daughter arrived, but something that hadn't happened was any kind of physical activity. Their relationship wasn't based on sex by any means and Punk still had ways of showing affection, but Liz couldn't help but think there was something bothering him and looking in the mirror she groaned. Her body had not bounced back as she hoped it would; her stomach had flattened out for the most part, but her butt and her breasts sagged making her sigh. It wasn't the worst she'd ever looked, but she was determined to work on herself physically sure that the combination of that and therapy would renew the confidence she once had in herself.

* * *

A month and a half after deciding to transform herself, Liz threw on a pair of yoga pants and a tank top ready to head to the gym. She'd been working out with a trainer once a day, five days a week, and doing a baby yoga class with Mia two days a week. It gave the mother and daughter quality time to bond, Mia was able to interact with other babies and Liz was able to socialize with other moms. On top of the endorphins she'd been getting from working out, the therapy sessions had been extremely helpful. It gave her a chance to vent her frustrations and worries, which before she kept bottled up.

Tying her sneakers, she grabbed Mia from her bouncy seat getting a giggle from the now four month old which brought a smile to Liz's face. Heading down the stairs, Louie followed closely behind.

"Okay Miss Mia, Aunt Cassie should be here any minute to spend time with you. Mommy is going to go work out with Claude and then I'll be home and we'll get ready for daddy. Are you excited to see daddy?" Mia continued to giggle and smile. Liz took Mia's hand and placed a kiss to her palm as she heard the doorbell ring. The two walked over to the door opening it to find Cassie on the other side. "Cassie why are you ringing the doorbell? You're welcome to walk right in, I've told you that!"

"I know, but it's weird. Anyway how is Mia today? Is she excited? I'm excited!"

"She is very excited to spend the afternoon with you." Liz handed Mia over to Cassie as the baby continued to giggle and smile. Liz grabbed her gym bag and her keys. "Okay I'll be back in a little over an hour. If you guys decide to go for a walk or anything just send me a text."

"It is a nice day out, so we probably will venture outside. Say bye to mommy Mia!" Cassie held Mia's hand waving it at Liz who waved in return before leaving the house.

* * *

Punk finished packing his bag to head home. He should've been overly thrilled to be heading home, but he had mixed feelings. The idea of going home for two weeks and adjusting to a routine only to head back to the road was a downer. It wasn't good for him or his relationship with Liz and Mia. He'd been skyping with Liz and was amazed to see how big Mia was getting. She was now giggling and smiling non-stop as well as rolling over. He'd already missed so much and the fact that he still had close to a year left on his contract made everything harder. Then there was the issue with Liz. She'd been opening up more and sharing her thoughts, which included everything from her recent self-esteem and confidence issues to having more children. He was caught off guard with the more kids discussion; even though he loved Mia dearly, he felt she was more then enough…for now at least. Punk made Liz realize how selfish it would be to have another baby right now. He came from a family where the kids were born close together and he watched his parents struggle to give each one of them the individual attention they needed. By no means was Punk saying no to more kids, but he was already missing out on Mia's milestones, he didn't want to miss out on another kids.

Getting the last of his stuff together, he grabbed his cell phone to see he had a text message from Cassie. Opening it he smiled seeing a picture of Mia wearing oversized sunglasses sitting on a blanket next to Louie. He missed that kid and the dog more then he ever thought he would and was anxious to get home even if it was only for a little while.

* * *

Liz toweled off some of the excess sweat on her way to the car. Claude had worked her over hard focusing on her abs and she definitely felt the burn, but it was worth it. She couldn't wait for Punk to see the positive changes she'd made. Cassie had taken Mia and Louie to the park, so she had plenty of time to shower and beautify herself before Punk got home. She had plans for just the two of them to have dinner at his favorite restaurant, which would hopefully lead to some mommy/daddy alone time. Colt and Ginger had extended their time in Chicago and had gracefully agreed to babysitt Mia for the night, so all Liz needed was for Punk to agree.

* * *

It was 6:30 and Liz was putting the finishing touches on her hair while Mia bounced happily in her bouncy chair. Liz smiled as Mia babbled to her reflection. Once her hair and make-up was done, Liz set out on the conquest of finding what to wear. She wanted something modest yet somewhat revealing; it had to get his mind wandering, his curiosity peaked. _Hmm…_ Standing in the walk in closet, she wasn't able to see or hear Punk make his entrance.

Punk was tired from the long flight, but instantly perked up when he saw Mia. Dropping his bags inside the door he hurried over to the bouncy seat scooping up Mia making her giggle and catch Liz's attention. She couldn't help but smile at the father/daughter reunion; Liz knew Punk missed Mia a lot while he was gone, so seeing them together made their little family feel whole again. She admired their interaction from the closet doorway until Punk finally noticed her staring.

"Hey baby," Punk walked over and kissed Liz on the cheek, "Shouldn't Mia be in bed?" Liz was caught off guard by his comment. She'd spent the last month and a half busting her ass getting in shape and as she stood in just her panties and a cami, he didn't even seem to notice.

Shaking the thought from her head, she answered his question. "Well she took a long nap for Cassie this afternoon and I figured you'd like her to be up when you got home, so she's breaking curfew. Also I made plans for the two of us to have some alone time; Colt and Ginger are awaiting her arrival." She noticed Punk's face drop at the mention of their friends watching Mia. Colt and Ginger had watched Mia plenty of times, they were good with her and neither of them minded it as long as plans were made in advance. The couple had actually been looking forward to having an overnight with Mia, which was good because Liz was looking forward to reconnecting with her husband.

"Oh…well that sounds nice, but I'm pretty beat and I'd rather stay in tonight. Is it okay if we hold off on alone time?" Liz felt disheartened, but she wasn't about to make a big deal about it.

"Ahh yeah, that's totally fine. I'll go call Ginger and let her know there's been a change of plans."

"Sounds good, I'm going to bath Mia and put her to bed; she's probably tired after the long day at the park." Liz tried her best to hold a smile as he walked out of the room, but she was upset. Punk was once again not acting like himself and she'd swore it was her appearance that put him off, but she was currently in the best shape of her life. Liz was happy and wanted so badly to share that with her husband and he didn't even seem to notice she existed.


	27. Chapter 27

**Random 2AM update...why not, I haven't done it for a while!**

**Thanks for the reviews...enjoy!**

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Liz put on a pair of sweats and an oversized T-shirt deciding to take a walk and leave Punk and Mia to reconnect, something that he wasn't having any problems with; he didn't even look at her when she said she was leaving instead keeping his focus on Mia. Liz was trying her best not to come off as jealous, but she was hurt that he was basically ignoring her and needed to have a heart to heart with Ginger because she always knew what to do. Keeping her emotions in check, Liz walked up the street to Colt and Ginger's house and knocked. The minute Ginger opened the door, the first tear fell.

"What's going on; where is Mia?"

Liz wiped at the stray tear feeling exasperated. "It's a very long, complicated story, but then again isn't it always that way with Punk and I?"

"Come in; what do I have to fix now?" Liz and Ginger sat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen as Ginger made tea.

"I don't know what is wrong with him nonetheless how to make things better. Ging we haven't had sex since I was pregnant and even that was in my second trimester, so it's been like five-six months. I thought it was me, clearly I didn't look that fantastic after having Mia, so I've been busting my ass to get in shape. Before you lecture me about changing myself for him, I did it for me first, but getting a reaction from him was definitely a motivator."

"Was it normal before you got pregnant for sex to happen sporadically?"

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**Only 3 chapters left...**

Liz couldn't help but smirk thinking of how things used to be. "Ging I was lucky if he was in the house before he pounced on me. When we were trying to get pregnant it was multiple times a day. Today he came in, picked up Mia and greeted me with a kiss on the cheek. Cheek kisses are perfectly acceptable when you haven't seen your grandma for a month, but not your wife. Worst yet he in turn chastised me for Mia being up late! Seriously, she's my kid too; I think I'm capable of making decisions about her."

"Wow, so there's really something going on with him. Maybe he just needs to unwind a bit, perhaps all the work pressure is building up and he needs to relax. Go home and give him a good rub down; I'm sure he'll be pouncing on you in no time."

"Perhaps you're right and a good massage will help ease the tension and in turn release some of the sexual tension. If that doesn't work I'm not sure I can keep my mind from wondering."

"Wondering what? What are you thinking?" Liz let out a sigh as she took a sip of her tea.

"It's nothing, it's stupid, but I thought maybe there was someone else."

Ginger rolled her eyes as she grabbed Liz's face forcing her to look at her. "Elizabeth don't think like that. You know deep down it isn't true; besides he had his diva encounters before he got together with you, who could he possibly be hooking up with?"

"Have you seen his storyline with AJ? Some of the scenes have left me wondering; I mean the girl is beautiful and she doesn't have a stretch mark or cesarean scar in site. Not to mention she just pretends to be crazy where I unfortunately went off the deep end; I can see now where that could be a turn off."

"Liz please; AJ is 95 pounds soaking wet, the girl needs a cheeseburger! I think you're just letting your mind wonder too much. Go home and try what I said; put on something sexy, light a few candles and bust out the massaging oils."

"Alright I'll give it a try, but what do I do if it doesn't work?"

"Tomorrow, at the barbeque, you wear your most revealing two piece and make him squirm a little bit. Hell I'll even let Colt get a peak at you and he can make some kind of comment to your husband to wake him up a little bit!" Liz smiled thinking of the perfect bikini as she got up from the table and headed toward the door. "Oh and don't forget you're making potato salad for tomorrow."

"Not a problem, but are you going to let me in on the big announcement?"

"Nope, you'll have to wait like everyone else. Goodnight Liz and make sure you drag Punk's ass out to dinner one of these nights so I can get my hands on that adorable baby of yours. Now that Leon is home he's looking forward to playing with Mia."

"That sounds good, but let's take things one night at a time; now if you'll excuse me, I have a husband to seduce."

* * *

Liz took her time getting home working out a plan in her head as to how things were going to work. Once she had a plan firmly in place, she headed home to find Punk sitting on the couch looking over the DVR list.

Punk heard the front door close and turned to see Liz in the living room doorway.

"Hey how was your walk?"

"It was pretty good, Ginger and I got a chance to chat and we're invited to a barbeque there tomorrow."

"Yeah Colt had mentioned something about it earlier in the week when I talked to him." Liz noticed Punk's gaze was on the TV, so she decided to put her plan into action hoping to get his attention.

"Did Mia go down easy?"

"Yeah she was pretty tired; you should watch getting her out of her routine like that." Liz bit her cheek trying not to take the comment to heart, but it irritated her. She was the one who was home with Mia all the time; she knew what was best for her. Plus it's not like she threw her routine out the window, it was for one damn night. Liz took a deep breath pushing her frustrations aside.

"Do you want anything to eat or drink?"

"Nope, I'm good; probably going to head up to bed soon." She glanced at the time; it was only 9PM, Punk was never asleep before 1AM. Knowing it was now or never to get him to open up, she decided to take Ginger's advice.

"Well if you give me fifteen minutes I'll make things more worth your while." Before he had the chance to say anything, Liz was upstairs.

After checking on Mia and kissing her goodnight, Liz got to work transforming the master bedroom. After lighting a few candles, she turned down the bed and grabbed a bottle of lotion before turning her attention on what to wear. After going through her lingerie drawer, she settled for a hot pink nightie with matching underwear; it was revealing without showing off everything and it perfectly showcased her new figure. She took her still curled hair out of the clip she had it in and shook her head running her fingers through it. Once Liz was sure everything was perfect and she was irresistible, she walked into the bedroom and made herself comfortable on the bed looking as natural as she could.

Forty minutes went by as Liz's impatience turned to frustration and eventual sadness. Tears fell from her big blue eyes as she couldn't help but think Punk's ignorance was because of her. Was it because of her breakdown? Ever since she'd sought out help by choosing to go to California for treatment, he'd been distant. Things seemed like they'd be falling into place when he had visited her, but ever since she'd been back home, he ignored her at any time possible. The little affection he showed her was now practically non-existent as he'd been home for four hours and hadn't even made an attempt to kiss her.

Liz heard Mia cry, so she blew out the candles and wiped the tears from her face before going to console her daughter. After changing Mia and holding her for a few minutes, the tiny baby was once again asleep, so Liz decided to call it a night herself. It was pointless staying up and racking her brain wondering what the hell was going on with Punk. Walking back into the bedroom, Liz was surprised to see Punk climbing into bed. She kept her eyes looking at the floor so he didn't see the redness in them and know she was upset as she climbed into bed beside him. Punk laid on his back as Liz laid on her side facing away from him.

"Is Mia okay? I had the monitor downstairs and her crying woke me up, but I noticed you got to her before I did."

"She's fine."

"Just fine?"

Liz sat up looking at him, "What exact wording would you like me to use? She's asleep, she's fine, and nothing is bothering her which unfortunately can't be said for all of us."

"What is your deal?"

"What is my deal? I think I'm perfectly fine compared to you! You seem to have something going on in that head of yours and you won't let me in."

"How does it feel being shut out? Now you know what it's like seeing you did it to me for months!"

Liz pushed her tongue into her cheek as she felt tears brewing in her eyes. "Nice Punk, just throw my issues in my face. You know I've come a long way; I'm trying my best to improve myself and make myself and Mia happy seeing you're not around to do it and even when you are you don't seem to care how I'm feeling…"

Punk let out a sigh as he ran his hands over his face knowing he'd just said all the wrong things. He honestly hadn't intended to piss her off, but at the same time he didn't want to deal with this, not now. "Liz, please; I didn't mean…"

"Save it Phil!" Liz threw back the blankets and grabbed her pillows.

"Where are you going?"

"Imagine that you actually care what I'm doing for once! I'm sleeping in the guest room, don't follow me!" Liz stormed out of the room slamming the door to the guest room. Punk let out another sigh as he sat up leaning his elbows on his knees. He knew he was shutting her out and he didn't want to, but the guilt was eating away at him. Liz looked amazing and he wanted nothing more then to make up for the past months and take her multiple times, but every time he even thought about kissing his wife, he thought about Ginger. What had happened that night? He tried to talk to Ginger about it countless times, but he couldn't bring himself to just come out with it. Besides she acted like it was no big deal obviously feeling it was best to hide it from her best friend and her husband. If the events from that night came out, it would devastate Liz and Colt ruining lifelong friendships and loving marriages. There had to be some way to snap out of this.


	28. Chapter 28

**Only 2 chapters left to post, what are the chances Punk gets it together? Also what did happen between Ging and Punk? Is he crazy and delusional, or did she take advantage of him? **

**Thanks to Ivy and CharmedbyOrton for the reviews also to everyone who continues to read this soap opera...Enjoy! :)**

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Liz got up early the next morning to make potato salad for the picnic. She poured her third cup of coffee as she let out another yawn. Despite Punk being stupid, she had been the one who felt guilty and didn't get any sleep. She'd tiptoed quietly into the room to get dressed this morning and found that he was sleeping peacefully. It irritated her that he hadn't been affected by what he said or the argument they'd had. Pushing the thought aside, she put the potatoes on to boil before turning her focus on cleaning the rest of the kitchen; it was beyond clean smelling of bleach and pine sol, but she needed something to keep her busy. Getting down on her hands and knees, she started to scrub the floor counting that as her weekend workout, when she was interrupted.

"Is there a reason why you're cleaning the floor again, it looks clean enough to eat off of." Liz pushed aside a lose piece of hair as she sat back on her heels trying to avoid eye contact.

"Well the kitchen can never be too clean." Punk noticed she was standoffish and couldn't say he blamed her, but decided to try to make it better. They were spending the day among friends and family and the last thing he wanted was tension. Liz continued to scrub until she noticed him sitting on the kitchen floor. "What are you doing?"

"We need to talk."

"I think we did enough of that last night, don't you?"

"No last night was me being stupid; I'm sorry I acted like such an ass yesterday, you don't deserve that and I don't want to be that way. I'm only home for two weeks, I just want us to get along and be happy if not for our sake, at least for Mia's."

Liz pushed her bucket aside and removed her cleaning gloves. "I want the same thing, but it's obvious you have things going on that you're not talking to me about. Is there something going on at work? Am I doing something? Is there someone else?" Liz's breath caught in her throat as she asked the last question and tears immediately fell from her eyes making her appear vulnerable which made her feel angry.

"Is that what you think is up? I can't believe you think I'm cheating on you; how could you think that?"

"More like how could I not think that. You don't talk to me about anything except Mia anymore. I know you love her more then anything and I'm happy that you ask about her and we talk about her, but that's honestly all we talk about. On top of that you haven't touched me in six months! I thought it was me, clearly I didn't look my best after I had Mia, but I've been busting my ass and you don't even seem to notice." Punk ran his hands through his hair trying to avoid her sad blue eyes.

"Liz I'm not cheating on you, but there is something that you should know. You're probably going to hate me for it and I'd understand, I hate myself for it, but you need to know before it completely consumes me." Punk took a few deep breaths before he steadied his gaze on her. "Liz, Ginger and I…we may have…"Both of them stopped when they heard Mia crying.

"Mia's up, I'm going to get her ready for the day; we can discuss this later." Liz got up from the floor and walked past him. She didn't know what Punk was going to say, but she was sure it would agitate her further, which wasn't how she wanted to feel today.

* * *

Punk and Liz both agreed to put their differences aside for the day as they headed to the barbeque; the best way to do this was to ignore each other, which is what they did. As soon as they walked in the door, Liz headed to the kitchen to help Ginger and Punk took Mia to hang out with Leon and Colt. Ginger noticed how they were acting off the bat and wasn't sure what to do about it. She'd never known the "rub down" method to fail, but clearly Punk and Liz could make anything fail. Liz put the potato salad in the fridge as she reached for the vodka in the liquor cabinet adding it to her lemonade; Liz only drank when she had a lot on her mind, so immediately Ginger knew this was serious.

"Hey what's going on?"

"Nothing, why would there be something going on?" Liz took a long drink of the vodka lemonade concoction, adding more vodka to it when she set it on the counter. Ginger grabbed the bottle from her grasp and grabbed Liz's elbow taking her back to the bedroom and closing the door.

"What is going on? You don't drink unless you're truly bothered by something, so what is it?"

"I don't know; he won't talk to me about anything. I asked him what was wrong; was it work, me, was he fucking someone else…"

"God Liz please tell me you didn't go there!"

"I did go there; he doesn't talk to me about anything other then Mia and hasn't touched me in six months, I couldn't help but to go there. He was taken back by it, actually seemed offended that I'd accuse him, but I had to know. As per his usual attitude he didn't answer the question anyway…instead he said something about needing to tell me something that I was going to hate him for and he mentioned your name."

"Why the fuck is he mentioning me? I didn't do anything! I know nothing as to what has him so fucked up. The last few times I saw him, while you were away, he acted really strange, but I just figured it was the stress of realizing his wife had a mental breakdown."

"Well I don't know what he was getting at either because Mia woke up. We agreed to put our differences aside for today, which in our relationship means we'll be at opposite sides of the party. I apologize for hitting the bottle, I just needed something to take the edge off, but I promise I'll drink one lemonade and that's it; God knows I don't need to get drunk and be further criticized by Mr. Straight Edge; he's already critiquing my parenting styles. It's so hard not to throw it in his face that I'm the one with Mia everyday, taking care of her when she's sick, when she's upset, when she's happy…he's out on the road being carefree, I'm the full time parent; pretty sure that entitles me to make decisions involving my daughter. Honestly I don't know how much more I can take of this; maybe I'll just file for divorce on Monday and chalk it up to experience."

"No Liz, don't say that! You know that's not what you want; I understand that Punk isn't being open with you right now, but don't give up just yet. He could surprise you, he has in the past. Do you remember the whole issue with his dad being an alcoholic coming out on TV? He shut down at first, but quickly realized you were someone he could confide in; maybe he just needs reminded that he can trust you. When he found out you checked yourself into rehab, he was shook up and betrayed because you didn't say anything; I think he just needs time." Liz let out a deep breath as she laid back on the bed.

"I am being rash in this decision and this is exactly what I did to him; now I know how he felt and it's a horrible feeling."

"It's a horrible feeling and you two need to talk it out. Go be with him and Mia, make him see what he's missing out on by pulling away; perhaps it'll be a wake-up call."


	29. Chapter 29

**It's Monday which means Raw, which I think is the only good thing about Mondays :) **

**Thanks to Ivy and TrissKins for the reviews...this chapter has a special appearance by another Indy fav Cliff Compton...Only one chapter to go...still haven't decided if I want to do a fourth story or not...Enjoy!**

* * *

Liz gathered her thoughts as she cut fruit in the kitchen. Punk never pushed her to talk to him about her feelings, even though she wished that he would have, but he respected her regardless how much it damaged their relationship; if anything she should grant him the same respect and let him know that regardless what was bothering him or how long it would take for him to open up, she wasn't going anywhere. It didn't matter what he did, she made a vow and he and Mia were the two most important people in her life; she wasn't willing to let that go.

Liz kept her distance allowing Punk to have time with Mia and some of his old indy wrestling buddies. After helping Ginger clean up, she noticed Mia had fallen asleep and Punk was clearly uncomfortable lugging her around. Liz walked over and Punk immediately took notice turning his attention to her; she was caught off guard by this, but decided to go forth as planned.

"Sorry for interrupting, but I figured I'd go lay Mia down in the guest room. It's getting warm out and I know she's not the lightest." Liz noticed a slight smirk on his lips as he voluntarily handed over Mia. She smiled at him briefly and turned to walk away, but Punk grabbed her attention again.

"Wait…I apologize for not properly introducing the two of you; Liz this is Cliff, we used to travel together and Cliff this is my wife Liz." Liz extended her free hand while giving a polite smile.

"It's nice to meet you; I've heard stories, so it's nice to put a face with a name."

"I hope those stories were all good ones."

"No worries, they weren't so bad. Anyway if you'll excuse me, again it was nice meeting you." Cliff nodded as Liz walked away turning his attention back to Punk.

"How in the hell did you manage to land such a beautiful woman?"

"Excuse me?"

"Man don't be so modest; don't take this the wrong way, but your wife is hot! Plus the two of you have made the most adorable kid I've ever seen. I never thought I'd see the day where Phil Brooks would settle down with a wife and a kid, but you made the right choice. Better hold tight to that one because she won't last long on the singles market!"

"Compton you've said enough, you can stop now."

"I'm just saying with a rack like that…"

"Compton, enough; I've knocked your ass out a few times, so bet your ass I'll do it again!" Cliff raised his hands in innocence and shrugged his shoulders as Punk let out a sigh shaking his head. He couldn't deny that Cliff was right with everything he said and it made him feel like an idiot. He had a beautiful woman to come home to, one that would do anything for him, so why was he letting a possible mistake get in the way of that.

* * *

Punk was on the hunt for Liz to talk to her, but wasn't having any luck. He looked all through the house and went back out to the deck to see her talking to Ginger's mom, Cindy, on the other side of the pool. _She can never make this easy!_ He looked around trying to find an easy path around, but it didn't exist. Letting out a sigh, he took off his shirt and shoes, emptied his pockets and dove into the pool. When he came back up he was met with a lot of stares, but shrugged it off as he found Liz's eyes on him with an unsure look on her face. Liz shook her head as she turned back to Cindy and excused herself making her way over to Punk.

"Can you explain to me why you just jumped in the pool with your clothes on?"

"Ahh yeah, I need to talk to you." Liz's eyes met his as she shook her head, keeping her voice low.

"Punk we said we weren't going to do this here; now is not the time or place."

"Listen I just want to talk to you, apologize for how I've been acting."

"Oh?"

"Yes, I've been very difficult to live with recently and I'm aware of that. I have a lot going on and I want to share everything with you, but I need time to get it sorted out."

"Okay…well take all the time you need. I realized not being in the know can be aggravating and I see now how you felt, but try not to take too much time. I miss you, a lot."

"I miss you too; you look beautiful by the way." Liz could feel a grin spread across her cheeks.

"Well thank you for finally noticing, I've worked very hard going to the gym five days a week."

"You at the gym working hard, nope I don't see it." Liz shoved Punk's arm getting a full smile from him.

"Shut up or I'm pushing you in the pool!" Punk wrapped his arms around Liz who squealed once she was pressed up against his cold, wet body.

"If I go in the pool, you're going in too."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me…" Liz couldn't resist how she was feeling in that moment as she wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her tiptoes planting a deep kiss to his lips.


	30. Chapter 30

**Last chapter...it's short and sweet...still debating doing a 4th one, let me know what you think...enjoy and thanks for reading and reviewing :)**

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Punk and Liz's moment of bliss was interrupted by Ginger and Colt who had finally decided to share their top secret announcement.

Ginger stood on a chair so that everyone could see and hear her as Colt and Leon stood off to the side. This was a big moment, one she'd been keeping secret for weeks. It hadn't been easy not saying anything, but now that is was definite; the Colton family was ready to share their excited news.

"Beloved party guests, as you all know there was a reason you were all invited. On behalf of Colt, Leon and myself, we have a very important announcement, one that I'm sure will make many of you happy." Ginger smirked as she saw everyone's eagerness getting the best of them, deciding now was the perfect time to pause for effect. "Colt, Leon and I are moving back to Chicago; sadly to do this I'm no longer affiliated with baseball, but have instead become co-owner of the Chicago Wolves franchise." All the guests applauded and offered up toasts to the return of The Colton family. Punk and Liz were surprised to say the least, but happy to have their friends back as their neighbors.

Liz gave Ginger a hug after hearing the news, "Why didn't you tell me? This is fantastic news, we'll be neighbors again!"

"I didn't tell you because that defeats the purpose of it being a secret and I figured you'd tell Punk and everyone knows he can't keep big things to himself! The plan is to stay in this house, but I don't know it's pretty big for just the three of us."

"Well not to get ahead of things, but there could always be more family members down the road."

"I don't think so; we tried and it tore us apart rather then bringing us together. If it happens then that's great, but neither of us is worried about that anymore. We're both happy with Leon and part of the agreement to get him excited about moving back is to get him a pet, so I suppose you could see that as another addition."

"I'm so happy for you guys, it's funny how things turn out. Let me know if you guys need help with anything, seriously don't hesitate to call; between Shay, Cassie and the in-laws someone is always begging to take Mia for a few hours, so I'd be happy to help."

"We're going back to Portland this week and packing up the house, so when we come back in two weeks I'll probably take you up on that offer."

"I'll be looking forward to it! Anyway, I hate to leave when it seems like the party is just getting started, but I have a feeling once Mia goes to bed that something besides an argument might happen!"

"Oh yeah? I noticed you two making out…I mean making up…and I'm happy to see it. I know it's been a rough couple of months for both of you, but you guys are so good together and you're great parents to that little girl. It took you some time, but with my training and watchful eye, I'd say you're both qualified baby whisperers now!"

"Haha, very funny…anyway call me when you guys get home."

* * *

Colt and Leon were sitting in the vacant dining room eating pizza while Ginger packed up the last of the bathroom. It had been a long week full of packing and cleaning, but the upside was the house had just been put on the market and had already received offers.

Going through the drawers, Ginger sorted out junk from non-junk putting the non-junk in a box when she came across a pregnancy test amongst extra toothbrushes and dental floss. _Hmm…I can't imagine why I would have put this in here, but there's no point in wasting a perfectly good pregnancy test…What the hell…_


	31. Broken Trust Preview

Hey guys, you wanted another story and now you've got one :D Go check out "Broken Trust" to find out what happens next…

Just when everything seems to be going right for Liz and Ginger, a secret is exposed that could ruin them forever. Feeling alone in the world with their relationships in shambles, Liz and Ginger are faced with problem after problem; is it too much to handle when there's no one to trust? Fourth, and final, story in the Liz/Ging saga


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